When there is a full moon
by lifeisadream
Summary: SesshKag "One only sees well with his heart. the essential is invisible to the eyes..." Those were her words to him. Now Sesshoumaru needs to learn what it is that they meant. The question is, will he want to learn, or will he put them behind him along wi
1. And that's how it all started

**And that's how it all started**

            She stood, rooted to the ground with shock, staring at the sword she held in her hand. Sesshoumaru stopped in his tracks as well, his poison-dripping claws inches away from Inuyasha's throat. His eyes licked back to look behind him. Following his brother's gaze, Inuyasha turned his eyes onto Kagome as well. Both brothers stared at her relentlessly; not exactly sure they could believe what they were seeing.

            Sesshoumaru recovered quickly however, and was soon towering over a stupefied Kagome. She took her eyes off the sword, and slowly raised them to Sesshoumaru's piercing, golden ones. Her eyes grew even wider with fear and apprehension, and she swallowed with difficulty. "Eh…it just slipped…and…uh," she cringed as Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed with suspicion. "I'm sorry…" she squeaked as her voice faltered.

            "What are you, human?" Sesshoumaru asked in a dangerously low tone that promised his full wrath. "What are you that you pulled out Tessaiga?" he stepped in even closer to her.

            Kagome shook her head meekly and took a tentative step away from him. But just as she was about to take another, Sesshoumaru's hand flashed out forwards and wrapped itself tightly about the young girl's thin wrist.

            "Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha yelled from across the tavern as he saw fear and pain grow in Kagome's eyes. "Sesshoumaru! Leave her alone, she's just a human. She's got nothing to do with this. I'm your opponent, NOT HER!"

            Sesshoumaru turned his head slightly towards Inuyasha, his cold stare leaving Kagome's face and focusing on his brother. "You expect me to ignore this?! Neither you nor I could pull out the sword, and yet somehow, she, this _human_, was able to without even trying. You WANT_ME _to ignore THIS?!"

            "Look I don't know how she did it either, but I know she's just a _human_, without even some of the normal human abilities." He lied; he knew full well that this Kagome girl was well beyond even some of the highest humans. "Like I said, SHE'S GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!!"

            At this, Sesshoumaru's mouth formed into a taunting smirk. He dragged Kagome even closer with one striped hand as he tugged a silver tress behind a pointed ear with the other. Kagome squeaked again, but Inuyasha noted the absence of fear from her eyes. In fact, to his surprise, he could see anger flash across the rich warm brown eyes. He could feel the waves of anger that were emitting from her body aura. If Sesshoumaru had noticed this change however, he showed no sign of it. "Humans! Why save them … why protect them … why…" his smirk grew as he looked back down at the now fiery Kagome, "…love them?"

            Inuyasha said nothing as he understood the full meaning of his brother's words, his own face tingeing with the red of growing rage.

            Kagome, however, looked momentarily confused, looking from one brother to the other. And in that moment, Sesshoumaru made his move. He pushed her fiercely against the hard wall of the tavern, and she gasped with both pain and surprise. His nails bit into her skin as he applied more pressure onto her wrist. He lifted his other hand to the handle of the blade, but almost instantly the sword sent sparks flying in his direction. Sesshoumaru frowned, and then turned brutally cold eyes onto Kagome.

            "Fine!" he growled, lifting his poisonous claws to her neck.

            Realising what was about to happen, Kagome screamed and dropped to her knees at the last possible moment, just as the claws swept past her head. But he still held her wrist. He lifted her off the ground with ease, only to throw her back down hard. She fell face forward, but extended her hands just in time to avoid contact with the ground.

            "Give me the sword!" he commanded extending his hand towards her. With the other, he unsheathed the sword at his waist and placed its unusually sharp edge against her throat.

            Kagome looked at the sword with fear, which slowly turned into confusion. She turned and looked Sesshoumaru squarely in the face. "No."

            "What do you mean 'no'?!" Inuyasha yelled at her. "Maybe you're stupid. But let me tell you this, I promise you, you have never been this close to death before!"

            She glanced at Inuyasha momentarily, and then turned back to Sesshoumaru. "No, I won't give you the sword." Her voice was calm with unwavering resolution despite her inner fears. She remained very still on the ground, secretly examining the sword at her throat. There was something odd, and yet familiar about it. It was giving off an aura that only she seemed to be able to feel; an aura of protectiveness and compassion. It was very odd that she was feeling an aura in the first place, let alone one from a sword. She sat quietly, contemplating what this could mean.

            "Kagome," Inuyasha spat with annoyance. "Just give him the sword. You're no match for him."

            Kagome's eyes flashed again with anger. She got up resolutely from the ground. "No. He wasn't able to pull out the sword, which means that the Tessaiga is most definitely not his. I will abide by its wishes and not give it to those who have been so obviously rejected!"

            She froze for a moment as the sword pressed against her throat with more pressure. What she did next baffled Inuyasha and even Sesshoumaru's servant, Jaken.

            She lifted a finger to her mouth and bit down on it hard. Blood began to spill from the wound, but she ignored the pain, watching Sesshoumaru's reaction closely.

            Sesshoumaru was looking down at her very hard, eyes just tinged with apprehension and disbelief as Kagome placed her injured finger against the sharp edge of the blade. She gave him a short and meaningful smirk, and then ruthlessly cut her finger against the blade.

            "What the…?" Inuyasha gasped. But his gasp wasn't because of her actions, but more due to what happened after.

            Kagome raised her now perfectly normal finger to her eyes. "Humph, I thought about as much. What's the point of threatening someone with a sword that's meant to heal?" she looked back into Sesshoumaru's golden gaze.

            To her surprise however, Sesshoumaru did not seam to be the slightest bit perturbed or angry. In fact, he stood tall in front of her, his eyes dancing with amusement. "So you're a miko," he stated matter of factly.

            "A miko?!" she heard herself repeat with confusion. She turned questioning eyes towards Inuyasha. As soon as she'd taken her eyes off of Sesshoumaru, she knew she'd made a mistake. She watched Inuyasha's face pale as a gust of green and stingy mist blew against her. Sesshoumaru had with one of his poisonous onslaughts. She felt her skin burn with immeasurable pain where it made contact with her skin. She sank to the floor, black blotched blurring her vision, as she neared unconsciousness. She turned her back to him and as a last resort, pulled the sword up in between herself and the source of the poison. A purplish-blue and a red light just reached her vision as her mind slipped from the world and she was tossed into darkness.

            "How is she?"

            "Still out cold. But her scars have all healed over."

            "Amazing! Not even Kikyou's powers would have allowed her such a quick recovery!"

            "Keh! If it were me, I would have been alive and kicking long before this!" Kagome felt a tinge of annoyance at this.

            "Yes. But ye should remember that this child is a human. She has no youkai blood within her veins to come to her aid."

            "Humans are all weak. This is exactly why I'm going to use the Jewel of the Four Souls to become a full-fledged demo—,"

            "Inuyasha…oswary!"

            WHAM!         

            "OW! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?"

            "Just to keep you from babbling off again," she answered moodily. Her whole body ached and if she moved her head too fast, the room started spinning around her. "Kaede-sama, thank you for taking care of me."

            "Think nothing of it child!" the old woman said warmly.

            Kagome smiled and sat up carefully in her futon. She was back in Kaede's hut, and the sword that she'd pulled out lay beside her. "What happened?" she asked looking at Inuyasha.

            Inuyasha glared at her, and said nothing. Kagome rolled her eyes and turned to the old priestess.

            "The sword protected you, as did your miko powers. Upon seeing this, Inuyasha's brother apparently gave up and left—,"

            "For now," Inuyasha interrupted rudely. "Trust me, he'll be back!"

            "Well that's just foolish then, isn't it?" Kagome retorted. "He can't even touch the sword. Why would he come back?! Only an idiot would?"

            "He is an IDIOT!" Inuyasha spat. "Believe me, he takes on grudges easily, and hardly ever lets go of them. And I bet he has a huge one against you!"

            "What?! What did I do?" Kagome asked, perplexed. "From what I remember, he was the one who tried to kill me! Or was that somehow my fault?"

            "Feh! You don't understand anything, do you?"

            "What do you mean?" Kagome questioned, her anger rising again.

            "Idiot! You hurt his pride," Inuyasha counted on his fingers, "You disobeyed a direct order. You took the Tessaiga. You even lived when he tried to kill you. You saw through his bluff. And worst of all, you did all this while being a human. Honestly, how stupid would you have to be to think that he's going to let you get away with it?"

            "Oh." Kagome settled down, knowing that he was probably right. Then, quiet suddenly, she remembered something that Sesshoumaru had said. She turned towards Kaede and asked, "What's a miko?"

            Inuyasha nearly lost balance and fell to the floor with the stupidity of the question. "Moron, how could you not know what a miko is when you so clearly are one?"

            "First of all," Kagome began haughtily, "You don't know that I am one or not. Second of all, in my time things are different, so obviously I've never heard of such a thing!" By this time the two were looking daggers at each other.

            Kaede sighed a great patient sigh, and broke the silent tension between the two. "A miko is a white magic user, child. Kikyou was a miko, as I suspect thou are one too. Ye have shown great powers that only a truly powerful miko has. It was thy miko powers that allowed thee passage through the bone eaters well. The same powers that helped thee against mistress centipede, and kept thee alive and healed thy wounds. And the demon's sword protection would not have been enough against the demon Sesshoumaru without thy miko powers." She nodded gravely.

            "A white magic user?" Kagome repeated hesitantly. "But…but how…?"

            "I suspect that it's because ye are the reincarnation of my sister, Kikyou. And ye are the daughter of a priest of your own time, one who guards the Time Tree and the Bone Eater's well."

            Kagome was silent, trying to absorb the information. "Wait a minute," she said slowly, "Tessaiga protected me?" she said with shock. "How…it's a sword!"

            "Correction," Inuyasha cut in. "It's a demon sword. Myoga said that my father had forged it from his fang in order to protect my human mother. He also said that, the sword was therefore bound to protect humans." He paused for a moment. "What Myoga couldn't figure out, was how you were able to pull out the fang and not me. So … how did you do it?"

            Kagome stared at Inuyasha's golden eyes, and then turned her eyes onto the sword that lay beside her. She picked it up and regarded it pensively. To her surprise, she felt something she hadn't noticed before: this sword also had an aura, one of power and yet protection. She analysed it with her eyes as a thought came to her mind.

            "Well?" Inuyasha asked impatiently.

            "Do you know where Sesshoumaru had gotten his sword from?"

            "The Tensaiga?" asked an old raspy, and yet familiar voice. Myoga-the-flee jumped onto Kagome's left shoulder.

            "Hi Myoga-ji!" Kagome said politely to the old flea. "Is that the name of his sword?"

            "Yes the Tensaiga is the brother sword to Tessaiga. Inutaisho built both swords, giving one to each brother. Tensaiga is a sword meant for healing; it can't cut down an enemy. The Tessaiga is almost the opposite. It is meant to give more strength to the owner. Both swords are exceptionally powerful when used correctly."

            "Oie, Myoga-ji ji!" Inuyasha said rudely. "If I were meant to have Tessaiga, why wasn't I able to pull it out?"

            Myoga thought this through thoroughly before answering. "Perhaps since the sword was built to protect humans, it could only be brought out by one. I am certain that's why Master Sesshoumaru could not touch the sword with his lack of human blood."

            Kagome looked at the sword in her hand with a new respect. She tapped Inuyasha gently on the shoulder, calling his attention to her. He turned, and was slightly surprised as she placed the sword in his hands with a smile. "Now you have to protect me, whether you like it or not!" she announced.

            "What! What do you mean?" Inuyasha said with disgust.

            "I don't think the sword would work if you weren't using it to protect a human!"

            "The young lady is quite right, Master Inuyasha. That is the only to tap into Tessaiga's true power!"

            Inuyasha's face fell with horror. "I don't have to protect _you_ at all," he retorted snidely. "After all, you're not the only human left in Japan. I'll use my sword to protect one whose prettier, nicer, and more useful than y--,"

            "Inuyasha…" he looked at her, "Oswary!"

            WHAM!

            "Oswary! Oswary! Oswary! Oswary! OSWARY!!!!!"

            WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!!!!!

            Outside the hut, Jaken got quietly to his feet. He had much to tell his master.

            And so, Inuyasha and Kagome continued their journey in search of the Shimon shards, now aided by the Tessaiga, which proved to be a powerful sword indeed. They met up with Shippo and eventually the lecherous monk, Miroku. And it was only a few days after their dealings with the Hell Painter that we pick up on the story once more.

            Naraku had already met with Sesshoumaru and offered him a Shikon shard that would allow Sesshoumaru full access to Tessaiga in exchange for the death of Inuyasha, which Sesshoumaru was only too eager to accomplish.

            Currently, he had sent Jaken to find out where his brother and his little group of companions were headed. He waited patiently, for after all, Sesshoumaru was a patient man, or rather demon, for Jaken to return with his news. He looked at his left forearm, where the jewel shard was embedded. He did not like it. It just didn't feel natural with it there. And he had a feeling that he wouldn't enjoy killing Inuyasha as much knowing that he would inevitably be borrowing power from it in the process. No. He did not like it one bit.

            He looked stubbornly away, reminding himself that without the shard, he would not be able to even touch Tessaiga. Plus, he had other business to take care of that night, he thought maliciously. That bitch had to die.

            After he killed his brother, he was determined to take down his miko wench. She had dared to defy and insult him right under his nose, and now she was going to pay. Just the thought of a mere human thinking so highly of themselves disgusted him. He found his desire to kill his brother grow even greater just for associating with such vile creatures.

            He knew full well now that the girl was the reincarnation and almost perfect double of the hanyou's former lover, Kikyou. He had also learned of the history between the once dead miko and Inuyasha. He felt another surge of loathing for the boy.

            Sesshoumaru got to his feet. He could smell Jaken as he neared the clearing he'd sat in. five minutes past and finally the little green toad appeared on the far side of the clearing. Sesshoumaru waited.

            "Master! Master!" the toad called from across the field as he waddled quickly towards him, or at least as quickly as his short legs would carry him. "Master! I've found them. They're in the neighbouring village of Inuyasha's forest. They're on their way out of the village, and want to go through the forest to some other village. I heard the hanyou say he wanted to go after the wench near some well."

            So the wench wasn't with his brother at all times! He hadn't known that. He turned east and promptly walked towards the infamous forest where his brother had been bound to a tree for **fifty years**.


	2. The Return of the Vehement Sesshoumaru

I do not own Inuyasha.

****

**The Return of the Vehement Sesshoumaru**

            Kagome climbed out of the well, barely able to carry the huge bag that hung on her shoulders. She could just hear the voices of Miroku, Shippo, and Inuyasha as they strolled towards the well. She made a note to 'sit' Inuyasha for not coming to help her with the heavy bag, when she knew full well that he had already picked up on her scent.

            Finally, she reached the top and tossed her bag over the rim of the well and sat on it herself in order to rest a bit. But she had precious little time, as she was almost immediately tackled by the little fox-child. She barely managed to keep her balance and at the same time hug the boy affectionately as they greeted each other.

            "Kagome-sama!" It was Miroku approaching with an all too mischievous spark in his eyes. "How have you been?"

            "Good, thank you, Miroku," she answered pleasantly at the same time smacking away the monk's wandering hand.

            Inuyasha remained quiet, staying behind and looking grumpy as usual. He kept throwing hopeful glances at her and then at her big yellow bag. Kagome almost laughed out loud as she caught his eyes and saw him turn the same shade of red as his clothes.

            She went to him, forgetting all her previous annoyance at him, and embraced him in a friendly hug. She felt him tense, and then relax into the hug gratefully and this time she laugh out loud.

            Immediately, Inuyasha pushed away from her and sat back down gruffly. Still slightly giggling, Kagome reached into her bag and brought out boxes of noodles and placed them in front of Inuyasha. The effect was instantaneous, his face lit up with a hungry smile and his ears twitched with excitement.

            Trying not to double over with a fit of silent giggles, Kagome picked up the boxes and placed them back into her bag, saying, "They're for later."

            Inuyasha nodded disappointedly and glared at the ground.

            "So where are we off to this time?" Kagome asked after the greeting process was over.

            "We're off to a village across from the forest. They've been pestered lately by a group of youkai, and lady Kaede thought we ought to check it out." Miroku answered, getting to his feet.

            "Feh! It's a waste of time if you asked me!" Inuyasha grumbled, but also got to his feet.

            "Well then, off we go!" Kagome declared happily. But before she'd stood up, she froze. She looked around sharply and pointed to the west. "There's a jewel shard coming this way from over there."

            Inuyasha jumped at the opportunity. He was halfway across the clearing when he froze in his tracks. He sniffed the air, and Kagome watched as his body visibly tensed. He rushed back to them, half saying half yelling, "It's Sesshoumaru!"

            Kagome, who was the only other person there who had already met Sesshoumaru, looked around widely cursing herself for not having a bow and arrow at hand. After all, last time she'd come across his path, she had barely escaped with her life.

            She turned to Shippo and very sternly said, "Shippo, I want you to go to Kaede-sama, and get me a bow and some arrows. Be very careful!" Shippo nodded solemnly and dashed instantly towards the village. Kagome felt her heart beat with worry for the safety of her young friend.

            "Excuse me Kagome-sama, but who is this Sesshoumaru?" Miroku asked, looking a bit worried.

            "Inuyasha's big brother. But he isn't a half demon like Inuyasha, he's the real thing. And judging from the last time I met him, I would have to say he has absolutely no brotherly love for him, or anyone with even a trace of human blood. What's worse is that he's actually very strong, and now he seems to have a jewel shard!" _But I would have thought he would never be interested in something with artificial powers_, she thought to herself.

            "That's bad news!" Miroku exclaimed with unease.

            "Keh!" Inuyasha put in. "I can take on Sesshoumaru anytime, especially now that I have the Tessaiga!"

            Kagome shot Miroku a doubtful look of worry.

            "Is that so brother?" came the unmistakeably cold voice of Sesshoumaru from just behind them. They all whirled around in unison to look at the fearsome youkai. "We'll just have to see about that now, won't we?"

            Without hesitation, he launched fluidly towards Inuyasha, aiming for the sword that he clutched in his hands.

            Luckily, Inuyasha managed to jump away just in time. But Sesshoumaru wasted no time; he had changed direction in the same breath and punched Inuyasha hard in the stomach.

            Inuyasha gasped for air, but managed to move quickly enough to avoid Sesshoumaru's poisonous whip. He stood a good ten yards away, panting for breath.

            Meanwhile Kagome and Miroku had pulled themselves behind the well. Noticing the sudden break, Kagome peered over the ledge of the well.

            She saw Inuyasha standing on one side, panting, and Sesshoumaru standing across from him, standing regally with a well placed smirk on his face. His cold, golden eyes travelled from his brother to where she sat, crouched behind the well. His smirk spread across his handsome face.

            His calm demeanour made her lose her calm. She sprang to her feet with stinging anger and studied his body, her eyes stopping on his left forearm. "Inuyasha!" she called, her voice deadly with anger. "_He_ has the jewel shard. He hasn't used it yet though." She added as an afterthought.

            Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed with anger and surprise. He had not known she could sense the jewel shards. Although, he admitted to himself, he should have known better. After all, was she not the reincarnation of the miko appointed to taking care of the jewel? Yet he still did not like how she had surprised him again, especially since he'd thought he knew everything about her. _Oh, well_, he thought to himself, _all the more reason to kill her_.

            "Got it!" Inuyasha announced, bringing his attention back to him. Out of the edge of his eyes he saw two hands shoot up and pull down the girl, just as he attacked Inuyasha again.

            Inuyasha dodged again, and finally transformed the sword. Sesshoumaru hesitated for just a moment, not sure whether his brother had managed to tap into the sword's full power. His question was answered when Inuyasha swung the sword with growing skill, aiming for his head.

            Kagome frowned as she saw Sesshoumaru's taunting smirk.

            "What's wrong Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked with concern.

            "It's Sesshoumaru, he's completely untroubled by Inuyasha, even though he's using Tessaiga. Normally, the demons would be on their guard by now."

            Miroku sneaked a look at Sesshoumaru, seeing his bored expression as Inuyasha swung his sword fruitlessly over and over again. The demon stood his ground without effort as the hanyou was becoming more exhausted by each blow. "I see what you mean."

            "I gotta do something." Kagome groaned under her breath. She looked around widely for any signs of Shippo. All she could see was Sesshoumaru's frog servant, the Staff of Heads in one hand and an oddly shaped pine-comb. Kagome frowned again with confusion and frustration.

            "I've had enough of this game," Sesshoumaru drawled monotonously. Kagome and Miroku watched with horror as Sesshoumaru flung forward the fluffy boa-like object that hung from his shoulder. It shot towards Inuyasha, and wrapped around him tightly. With a flick of his wrist, Sesshoumaru pulled Inuyasha towards himself like a yo-yo. He encircled one hand around Inuyasha's wrist, emitting the venomous fluid from his palm.

            Inuyasha's face contorted with pain. He tried to wriggle out of Sesshoumaru's grip, but he was bound too tightly. He could feel his grip around the sword slacken.

            "Stop it!" Kagome breathed, her face pale with dread.

            "Which will be the first to drop," Sesshoumaru mused out loud, "the sword or the hand?"

            "No! INUYASHA!" Kagome ran out from behind the well, glowing with the purple-blue hue of her miko powers. But even as she ran she could see the sword slip from Inuyasha's desperately clutching hand.

            "KAGOME!" Inuyasha yelled exasperatedly. "STAY BACK!" He tried to readjust his grip, but was already too late.

            The sword plunged down.

            It dug dip into the earth, transforming back into the old and rusty sword that it had originally been.

            Kagome froze in her tracks, the luminous miko glow disappearing. Sesshoumaru dropped Inuyasha as though he was yesterday's garbage, and wrapped his left hand around the handle of Tessaiga. No warning sparks flew. He lifted his eyes to the rigidly standing miko, and jerked the sword out of the ground. He was barely able to keep his smile in check as the girl gasped with surprise.

            Inuyasha got up from the ground just as Sesshoumaru transformed the Tessaiga. "Now 'brother', I will show you the true powers that dwell within Tessaiga. Watch and learn!" He turned his head towards the nearby mountain. "Jaken."   

            The servant ran forwards, stopped at the edge of the clearing, and jabbed the pointed head of his staff into the ground. "Come forth Tykotsu!"

            At first nothing happened. But then the whole ground shook with such intensity that Kagome lost her balance and fell to the ground, and Miroku had to grab the ledge of the well to keep from doing the same. Shippo, who had just come back from Kaede's, squeaked with fright as a demon twice the size of the largest tree in the forest appeared out of one of the mouth's of the Staff of Heads.

            It was the same crimson demon on which Sesshoumaru had been sitting on when Kagome had first met him. The monster lifted one giant arm, and brought it down hard against the mountain skirt.

            Instantly, hundreds of youkai rose from their nests along the mountain slope, flying into the air to see what had caused the disturbance.

            Sesshoumaru swung the sword around with ease, and five yellow-white claws swept across the mountain.

            Time seemed to have frozen. Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku and Shippo looked on petrified at the residue of Tessaiga's attack. "Tessaiga," Sesshoumaru mused, admiring the sword in his hand, "the sword that can kill a hundred youkai in one swipe!"

            "But there is nothing left!" Kagome gasped. There were five deep gouges on the ground. All the youkai had been killed and completely destroyed. Along with them, all the greenery and half of the mountain, and whatever else that might have been in the way had been entirely ravished.

            Sesshoumaru walked forwards, and stopped just in front of Kagome, looking sternly down at her in her odd clothes. Kagome slowly turned her eyes up to his; she couldn't even muster the will to get to her feet. She continued to stare at him, and did not even flinch as he put the sword's cold blade under chin. "Stand."

            She knew she should, she knew she had to get to her feet, but her body refused to follow orders. She continued to sit limply on the ground, not daring to take her eyes off of him.

            Perhaps realising that she wasn't about to stand, Sesshoumaru bent down, grabbed the front of her shirt, and pulled her to her feet.

            "Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha yelled; he seemed to have to just snapped out of his trance. "Put her down!"

            Sesshoumaru completely ignored him. Instead he pulled her roughly even closer, so that she was inches away from him. Kagome couldn't help but let out a whimper of fright.

            "Can you feel it?" he asked, watching her face closely.

            Kagome frowned with confusion. "Naño?"

            "Can you feel what this sword is built for?" He growled, their face almost nose to nose, and Kagome's frown deepened. "You knew Tensaiga's purpose, so it follows logic for you to know Tessaiga's purpose as well. Now, don't toy with me, woman! Can you feel it?"

            Kagome just managed to nod. Her heart was beating fast and loud, so loudly that she knew Sesshoumaru could hear it, especially with his extra-sensitive ears.

            "Well? What kind of sword is it?" Sesshoumaru said with his smirk more pronounced than ever as he revelled at her heightened fear.

            Sadly for Sesshoumaru, anger was beginning to find its way back to her. Her eyes hardened, and she glared into Sesshoumaru's golden eyes. "Don't you already know? How very interesting!" she commented sarcastically. Sesshoumaru's eyes flashed with rage as they narrowed to a slit.

            But almost immediately, his stoic mask was back on, covering his anger. "Someone needs to teach you how to treat a youkai lord." He growled. His hand left the front of her school uniform, only to clasp tightly around her throat. He squeezed hard enough to just cut off her air supply. He saw fear and anger mingle within her eyes as she futilely struggled against his grip.

            It was then that he felt a hard tug from where the jewel shard was embedded in his arm. It was as though it was trying to find its way back out. He looked back at the girl, noticing how her face was set with concentration as she openly stared at his left forearm. He dropped the girl as though he had been holding onto something incredibly nasty.

            Kagome flinched with pain as she fell hard against the ground, but she couldn't help smiling triumphantly. Even though she'd lost her concentration, she knew she'd found a weak spot.

            "No matter," Sesshoumaru turned his back to her. "Jaken! Take care of the rest of them."

            Jaken jumped to his feet excitedly, as Sesshoumaru made his way towards his brother.

            The toad youkai climbed onto the shoulder of the huge beast before them. He tapped it hard with the end of his staff. "Squish the worthless scum, Tykotsu!"

            The youkai lifted one huge palm and brought it down towards a baffled Shippo. "Oh no, you DON'T!" Kagome yelled as she longed for the fox kitsune. She grabbed him by the collar and dodged out from under the descending hand.

            Miroku, taking his cue from Kagome, lifted his right hand and aimed his kazanaa at the beast. Immediately, the monster had half of his outstretched arm sucked into Miroku, but the monk showed no sign of pulling back.

            Jaken, who could also feel the pull of the kazanaa, reached into his haori and pulled out the pine comb that Naraku had given them for just such a case. He threw it into the air, and even he was surprised as the pine-comb turned into hundreds of oddly shaped bees.

            Inuyasha looked on as Miroku sucked in the demon, watching the bees apprehensively, not exactly sure what his brother's servant was up to.

            He checked around to see if everyone else was doing okay. Kagome was tending to Shippo, who seemed to be in shock, but they were both otherwise okay. He knew Kagome had extremely lucky to still be alive. He wasn't exactly sure why his brother would take such a deep grudge against a human, but he was on his full guard.

            "Well, well Inuyasha!" came Sesshoumaru's voice from very close by. He turned cautiously to him. "Seems as thought you've gotten over the original miko." Inuyasha ignored the taunt, he was not stupid enough to attack especially since Sesshoumaru now had the Tessaiga. "Now, Inuyasha, is the time for your demise!"

            With that said, he launched towards him, sword raised above his head.

            Miroku, meanwhile, was having conflicts of his own. He'd noticed the bees and could not help noticing that the bees had the same jaki coming from them as Naraku. What was more was that the bees were flying into his kazanaa, as though determined to be sucked in. _Fine! If that's what they want, then that is exactly what they're going to get!_ He thought to himself with menace.

            "Miroku…I don't think you should be doing that!" Kagome warned. But, alas, it was too late.

            As the first bee was sucked in, a hot piercing pain began to spread through his hand. It was spreading quickly, moving up from his hand, into his arm, and eventually reaching his shoulders.

            Miroku was frozen with pain and could not close his kazanaa, giving more bees the chance to enter his body.

            "Oh no, you don't!" he heard the young miko shout fiercely. She'd reached him and quickly blocked the kazanaa with his prayer beads. "Are you okay, Miroku-san?"

            The monk fell to his knees, only to be caught by Kagome before he had completely fallen. She lay him down gently, trying to sooth some of his pain with her ever gentle smile and touch. But he could see within her eyes the true fear that she felt for her friend's safety.

            "I think I've been poisoned," Miroku said, his voice breaking despite his best efforts to keep it from doing so.

            For a second the fear spread across her young face, and Miroku was touched by her deep concern for her companion.

            Kagome frowned with concentration. "I have an idea, but I'm not sure it'll work," she said slowly. "You see, Kaede has been teaching me how to heal using my miko powers. But I'm not sure if it'll work when I don't really know what the problem is…"

            "Well, just try it," Miroku said offhandedly.

            Kagome nodded, she lifter her hand and placed it over Miroku's cursed hand.

            From about ten meters away, Sesshoumaru ceased his attack, sensing the overwhelmingly powerful aura that was radiating from the miko. She was practically glowing with her power. She was bent over the pain-stricken monk, her face set with concentration. Inuyasha took his opportunity and attacked. As though snapping back from a dream, he moved just in time to block Inuyasha's claws.

            Once the tingling in his arm had stopped, Miroku took in a deep breath of relief. It had worked. "Are you feeling better now?" Kagome peered nervously over him.

            Miroku groaned, "I'm not sure…I might need mouth to mouth breathing."

            "Okay," Kagome said, looking up. Her eyes followed Inuyasha's movements. She looked back down at Miroku, worry back in her eyes. Miroku, thinking he knew what was coming up, closed his eyes and waited with his mouth slightly open.

            But when he opened his eyes after a few minutes, he had just enough time to move away from Shippo who was trying to give him mouth to mouth respiration, and Kagome was nowhere near them. _Oh well, it was worth a try._

            Kagome ran back to the edge of the forest where Shippo had dropped her bow and arrow. _Good! If he has time to be lecherous, then he'll be okay,_ she thought to herself. She cringed as she saw Inuyasha take a poisonous blow to the side of his face.

            He knew he was going to lose. He had no chance without his sword, especially since it was Sesshoumaru who had the sword. He groaned inwardly as Sesshoumaru leapt for him again. He managed to dodge the sword, but had the air punched out of him as Sesshoumaru kneed him in the stomach. Again Sesshoumaru brought down the Tessaiga, but this time Inuyasha had an idea. He pulled out the sword's sheath and used it to block the blow.

            "You think you can win against this Sesshoumaru using a sword sheath!" he taunted, putting more force into his attack.

            Inuyasha struggled against his brother, holding the sheath steadily against the sword. But already he could hear it cracking. "Wouldn't that be great," he smirked, trying to cover the cracking sound of the sheath by his own voice. "The great Sesshoumaru losing to a hanyou and his sheath!"

            "What is a scabbard in comparison to the Tessaiga?'

            "Not just _any_ scabbard. I'll show you what happens when you don't kill me when you have the chance to."

            Sesshoumaru smirked with feign amusement. He pulled back, allowing Inuyasha to jump away.

            For a second Inuyasha thought his brother had fallen for it. But almost instantly he knew he had been wrong.

            "It takes only one swing to end this!" he said as calmly as ever. He lifted the sword above his head, ready to swing it and unleash its power upon Inuyasha.

            Whoosh!

            Clang!

            The sword was surrounded with purple electric shocks as soon as it had been hit, and a slightly glowing arrow landed in the dirt nearby.

            Tessaiga's blade turned a pinkish hue, and then was transformed back into its original form.

            Sesshoumaru looked at the useless sword in his hand, and then turned his eyes to the direction from which the arrow had come. Inuyasha, mouth slightly opened in shock, followed suit.

            There, on top of the hill that had once been a mountain, Kagome stood, poised with another arrow already slung and ready in her bow. "Sesshoumaru!" she called clearly across the field. "The next one's for you!" she had aimed for the spot where the jewel's faint glow she could see.


	3. The Sheild that Protected Him

I do not own Inuyasha  
  
**The Shield that protected him  
**  
Sesshoumaru's eyes travelled to where her arrow was pointed. Could she know?  
The arrow flew towards his left forearm, but he was too quick for it.  
"Kagome, aim for his heart!" Shippo advised from behind Miroku.  
"No Shippo! If I can just take out the Shikon jewel, he won't even be able to wield the Tessaiga."  
So she did know! But how? And how, how was she able to undo Tessaiga's transformation? Another arrow shot towards him. But this time, he was prepared.  
He caught the arrow between his fingers, melting it with his poison. He took to the air, heading towards the miko.  
Kagome saw him coming, but knew she had barely enough time to even blink before he reached her. She could barely even see him.  
Inuyasha, with desperation, tried to intercept him with his claws. He was just in time, and even managed to scratch Sesshoumaru right over his own natural stripes  
Sesshoumaru stayed back, and smirked coldly, "You're fast when that girl is involved."  
"Inuyasha," Kagome said quickly, "the shard is in his left forearm. That's why he can wield the Tessaiga!"  
Sesshoumaru kept from showing his annoyance at the girl's accuracy. How does she know?!  
"Good, thanks Kagome!" Inuyasha said over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off of his brother, "for this and the arrow! Now, go!"  
Kagome hesitated for a moment, she had not heard of Inuyasha thanking anybody, let alone her! She nodded her head, as though signalling her own thanks, and ran back to Miroku.  
Miroku, meanwhile, had captured Jaken, and was questioning him. "It's funny, but I'm quite sure we've never met before. But those bees of yours seemed to have been brought just to block my kazanaa." Jaken shifted nervously under Miroku's piercing gaze. "How did you come across them?"  
"H-he gave it to us," he answered reluctantly.  
"Who?"  
"The same bastard who gave Sesshoumaru-sama the Shikon shard."  
"Alright, toad," Kagome spat at him. She'd reached them, and had picked up the toad's abanoded staff along the way. "Spit it out, or I'll break your precious stick right here and now!" she'd come across Jaken before and knew full well that without his master, the staff was the youkai's only means of protection.  
"Alright, alright! I'll talk, you stupid dirty wench! He was wearing a baboon skin so I couldn't see what he looked like. But he called himself Naraku!"  
"Naraku!" the three breathed with shock.  
"Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha called to his brother. "You should keep your eyes on your eyes on your opponent." Sesshoumaru turned his cold eyes away from the human girl and stared haughtily at his brother. "So that's how you did it. I was wondering about that. But no matter, you have a Shikon shard. Now I can kill you," he cracked his knuckles menacingly, "and get the jewel shard. It's two birds with one stone!"  
That said, he launched towards his half-brother, and dug his claws straight through Sesshoumaru's left shoulder.  
He kept from wincing, but silently reprimanded himself for allowing Inuyasha the opportunity to attack. Taking the offensive, Sesshoumaru dug his poisonous claws into Inuyasha's back, and allowed some of the poison to seep through. He felt Inuyasha tense as he gasped with pain. He drew out his hand.  
Inuyasha, however, pulled down and twisted the torn tissues until the arm came free. He retreated quickly with Sesshoumaru's left arm still holding the Tessaiga, barely able to breath for pain.  
Sesshoumaru kept from showing his pain, but his eyes were turning red as his anger seeped through his stoic mask. Inuyasha freed the sword from the severed arm's grasp. He transformed it back into a fang, but had no hope of saving his friends and Kagome. The poison was taking its toll on him, and his vision was blurred. All he could see was his brother's red glowing eyes. He allowed the sword's tip to fall onto the ground and dig in as he fell to one knee, no longer able to stand without support.  
Kagome, Miroku, and Shippo rushed towards him, abandoning the toad youkai in their haste.  
"This doesn't look good!" Miroku said as he examined Inuyasha. "Can't you do something about it, Kagome-sama?"  
"I can only try," Kagome responded, her usually soft voice etched with worry. She knelt down in front of Inuyasha, and lifted her hands to his wound. She thought she heard two soft 'oomph's, but did not give herself the time to turn and investigate; she had to help Inuyasha as soon as possible. But before she could even tap into her miko powers, someone grabbed both of her wrists in a bone crushing grip. She yelped in pain, but refused to give in.  
She dipped into her small well of miko powers. She felt Sesshoumaru's grip tighten on her arms and a low and dangerous growl emit from his throat to show his disapproval over her insistence.  
Her anger flared about her, as did her miko aura. She looked around for help. She knew that Inuyasha had fallen into unconsciousness, but so had Miroku and Shippo (Jaken had snuck up to them and taken his revenge while they were distracted).  
Sesshoumaru lifted the wench with ease, so that her toes were just brushing the ground. As she looked at his red eyes and growing fangs, her anger was immediately replaced with pure fear.  
"Y-you're t-transfor-forming!" her voice was just above a whisper. Her eyes were wide with fear, and her body frozen stiff. "Onegai..."  
"Naño onegai?" he growled, ready to crush her.  
Kagome tore her eyes away from his, trying to keep back her tears. "Onegaiitashimasu...don't kill them! Let them...let them live..."  
Sesshoumaru stared at the pathetic human that he held in his arm. _She begged for **their** lives?!  
_ He threw her hard against the ground at his feet. She flinched but did not look up, waiting silently for her death. _She's supposed to be begging me to spare **her** life! What is wrong with this slip of a human being?!_  
But before he could say or do anything else, he was interrupted. "Kikyou?!" He heard the voice of the bastard, Naraku. And sure enough he stood on a tree branch, the baboon skin covering his features.  
The girl's head snapped up with surprise at the word. Sesshoumaru who knew full well who this Kikyou was, looked around to see where she was.  
Kagome, however, had suddenly become aware of the presence of a lot of Shikon jewel shards. She turned and looked at the source where their energy flowed from. On top of a tree branch, not too far away, stood a man wearing a baboon pelt. Something clicked in her mind, as she realized who this new intruder could be. "Naraku!" she breathed.  
Naraku stared down at the girl-miko. _She looks so much like her. But her scent, her scent is all wrong._ He jumped down gracefully enough from the tree branch and landed beside Sesshoumaru. One of the bees flew to the torn arm on the ground, tore out the Shikon shard from within and brought it to Naraku.  
After grabbing the jewel, Naraku bowed down in front of the taiyoukai, who stared coldly down at him. He had stopped his transformation.  
"It seems as though you are almost done. I must say you have done a good job."  
"These weaklings," said Jaken disdainfully, "was no match for my lord!"  
"Of course!" Naraku replied silkily.  
Kagome took one cautious step away from them towards Inuyasha. They seemed to have forgotten about her and she wasn't about to lose her opportunity.  
"What are you doing here?" Sesshoumaru asked.  
"I simply came to retrieve the shard that I'd lent you."  
She was almost there, just one more step and she would be home free.  
"Is that so," he reached out and grabbed Kagome's hair and yanked her back. She gave out a small 'eep' of surprise, and stumbled back towards him. She cursed him silently, her anger trying to find its way to the surface. She crossed her arms in front of herself stubbornly and turned her attention back to the two of them.  
Sesshoumaru kept his hand in the girl's raven coloured hair, telling himself he wanted to make sure she didn't try to escape again. He did notice something then; Naraku had his eyes locked onto her form, a scent of arousal coming from him. And it seemed that the girl had noticed this too.  
She gave an involuntary shiver and took a step closer to Sesshoumaru; between the two of them, she'd rather take her chances with Sesshoumaru. At least _he_ wasn't radiating with vileness like Naraku was.  
"How is it that you still live, Kikyou?" Naraku asked, his eyes glittering malevolently.  
_Kikyou?! So he thinks I'm Kikyou?_ Kagome almost laughed with relief. "I'm not her!" said Kagome, surprised to know her voice sounded so indifferent.  
Naraku lifted his hand to his hood and lifted the baboon's head, thus revealing his face for the first time. Long black hair flowed free and fell to his waist, and almost red eyes looked onto Kagome's face.  
Kagome felt Sesshoumaru's grip tighten on her hair. She turned slowly and looked at him. He was looking menacingly at Naraku, his nose almost wrinkled with disgust. He was still bleeding, and yet refused to show any sign as to even acknowledge that his arm was missing.  
"A hanyou," he spit out the word. "And you dared to come this close to me."  
Kagome almost rolled her eyes; his problem was Naraku's heritage? Come on!  
Naraku ignored him, and continued to stare openly at Kagome. She didn't like how his eyes seemed to take in her whole form. _Please wake up Inuyasha! I need you!_ Her eyes darted towards her bow and arrow which lay on the ground, _conveniently_ just out of reach.  
Having had enough of the hanyou's rudeness, Sesshoumaru struck. In one fluid motion he let go of Kagome and clawed Naraku across the chest.  
The man in the baboon skin jumped away, but not before serious damage had been done. The look that he turned on Sesshoumaru was one of pure venom. Kagome shivered even though it was not directed at her. Sesshoumaru, she noticed, stood as serenely as ever, as though he was in fact bored with the situation.  
"So you chose to work against me," he said in a voice of steel, but that wasn't what was scaring Kagome. Her eyes were glued to Naraku's chest, where the wounds were disappearing before her very eyes. "A fake and a fool. You shall both die."  
At his words, the wind picked up around them and began to travel in a circle. This was no ordinary wind, everything it touched melted, and it was a light shade of purple. Kagome knew that if the wind touched her or any of her friends they would die a painful death.  
"You won't hurt them!" the girl said determinedly, although more to herself than to Naraku. The weak creature that had been begging for mercy just a few minutes ago, now had a face of set determination and great anger. Sesshoumaru, knowing that he could escape this poisonous whirlwind at any given moment, remained to see exactly how the girl thought she was going to protect her friends.  
She dived for her bow and arrow, and Sesshoumaru almost sighed in disappointment. Even with his keen senses, he could not spot the hanyou through the poisonous wall. How could this slip of a girl ever hope to shoot him if she was shooting at random?  
Kagome, however, had a plan. She notched an arrow and aimed. She could feel the jewel shards; it followed logic that wherever they were was where Naraku was.  
She flared with power, her face set with concentration. _Pathetic how far desperation could take humans_, Sesshoumaru thought. He was aware of Jaken who was clutching his pants as the whirlwind closed around them, but still he remained to see what the girl would do.  
As if on cue, she released the arrow. It flew forward at a speed that could easily match that of his, glowing brightly. It shattered the whirlwind, and Sesshoumaru was surprised to see its aim was true. It hit Naraku in the stomach, destroying the hanyou's lower body part upon contact.  
She already had another arrow notched, and released it so that it destroyed Naraku's left arm and shoulder.  
Shock was eminent on Naraku's face. _How...?_ No matter, it was time to leave. He released a wave of miasma, and took to the air.  
Almost instinctively, Kagome put up a shield, covering her friends and even the well.  
Sesshoumaru was about to take to the air in order to escape the miasma, but found there was no need. He was inside the miko's shield!  
Not stopping to think, Kagome rushed to Inuyasha and quickly revived him. There was a sharp intake of breath as he came back to consciousness.  
Inuyasha opened his eyes to come face to face with Kagome. She was knelt down in front of him, worry clear on her face. As soon as she saw him look back at her, she threw her arms around him and sobbed with relief. "Yougata...yougata," she repeated in his ear.  
Looking beyond her, he saw that they were inside a shield charm almost as large as the field. Miroku and Shippo lay unconscious on the ground a short distance away. The ground was far more scarred than before he had blacked out, and to his surprise, his brother was still there, **inside** the shield. He had the oddest look as he quietly watched at Kagome.  
"Kagome, you baka! If you're gonna put up a shield, you're not supposed to keep the attacker inside it!"  
"Huh?" Kagome asked looking up. Only then did she realize that she had protected Sesshoumaru as well. "Oh, I didn't mean to...I was trying to cover the well as well..."  
_ So that was why,_ Sesshoumaru thought, putting his mask of indifference back on as his half-brother got to his feet.  
"But Inuyasha, he wasn't the one who did the attacking," Kagome informed him hesitantly.  
That got Inuyasha's attention. "What?" he exclaimed sharply.  
"It was...Naraku," her voice hardly a whisper, but it echoed in the silent forest. She realised that the shield was still up, and she dropped it. As it fell to the ground it healed everything completely. Miroku and Shippo stirred awake, and even Sesshoumaru's left arm stopped its consistent bleeding.  
"Naraku," Inuyasha growled, his knuckles tight around Tessaiga's handle. "He was here? And he attacked?"  
Kagome only nodded.  
Inuyasha shook his head and turned towards his brother. "Well, that doesn't matter for now. We have other things to take care of." He lifted his sword and pointed it in the taiyoukai's direction.  
Sesshoumaru allowed a cold smirk to curl his lips. "Manten Inuyasha!" the girl interrupted, inching closer to Inuyasha and slightly hiding behind his back. "I think your fight is pointless..."  
Sesshoumaru raised a delicate eyebrow. Inuyasha, on the other hand, nearly fell to the ground in shock. "WHAT?!"  
The girl laughed nervously. "Well, it's not like he can take the Tessaiga anymore, he needs a shard for that. Plus, I have a feeling that Naraku made another enemy tonight. The more people on our side, the better our chances. And what's the point of putting your life and those of others on the line if there's nothing to gain. I say we wait to see what his next move is, then we act."  
Sesshoumaru did not know whether he was mad at the human for her assumptions about him, or to congratulate her for being so logical. Either way, he kept his face blank, and decided that now was not the best time to retrieve the Tessaiga.  
Jaken, on the other hand, was seething. "How dare you, you insolent human! How dare --,"  
"Jaken," his voice was as unwavering as ever. "We are leaving."  
With that said, he called forth the ethery cloud that he traveled upon and mounted it. Jaken, looking highly disconcerted, followed.  
Together, they disappeared into the night.  
Inuyasha made a move as to follow them. "Oswary!"  
WHAM!  
"Oww! Kagome!" he said through gritted teeth, "You're letting him get away!"  
"Ma ma Inuyasha," she said, smiling nervously. "He's gone, and let us live--,"  
"But only for now. Trust me, he'll be back."  
"Well, we'll just have to deal with him then. It's not like we can kill him now. Might as well use our time to become prepared, so that next time you don't lose your sword as easily as this time."  
Inuyasha opened his mouth to retort something but the monk interrupted. "Kagome-sama is right. We need your brother --,"  
"Half-brother!" Inuyasha grumbled angrily.  
"—to fight against Naraku. Don't take him lightly, Naraku is a powerful foe."  
"Yeah," Shippo piped up, jumping into Kagome's arms. "You couldn't even beat Sesshoumaru." This earned the little kitsune a hard knock on the head.  
"Inuyasha," Kagome said with rage, hugging the now crying Shippo closer to herself. "Honestly! Shippo, you should know better."  
"Keh, whatever." 


	4. Let me Help Him

I do not own Inuyasha.

**Let me help him**

****

            _The wind scar, I can feel it. It's where the two youchis meet and clash with each other. I can beat him. All I have to do is to slash it open. That's where the Wound of the Wind lies! That's where my only chance lies!_ With that, Inuyasha slashed through the wound of the wind.

            Sesshoumaru saw his brother cut, saw the flash of light as the winds were separated, heard the eerie rumble of the chi's, but made no move out of its way. He already knew it was too late.

            Kagome watched as the Tessaiga's blast hit one of their biggest foes. She watched as the proud demon refused to utter any sound to voice his pain. She watched as the light of the blast shown its ghostly light on him, the force of the attack pushing back the long, smooth, silver strands of his hair. His golden eyes turned blood red as it only did when he was about to turn into his true form. Yet his face refused to show any sign of pain. It remained as dispassionate as ever even when face to face with death. Soon, he would be disappearing in the bright light of Tessaiga's attack.

            It was then that he felt it. Tensaiga pulsed at his side. His remaining arm went to its hilt on its own accord. His fingers wrapped around it and it pulsed with more strength. Sesshoumaru felt his hand direct the sword so that it pointed to the miko. He felt himself drawing the sword and it pulsed again, this time emitting a faded pink light equal to that of the miko's healing light.

            Her body quaked without a warning. Something was trying to reach her mind. _Let me borrow your strength_, it said in a voice that immediately calmed Kagome's entire body. _Let me save my master and I shall grant you any wish that I can. Please, great Miko let me save Lord Sesshoumaru!_

            Without thinking, Kagome brought her hands before her chest, her lids falling shut in the same breath. She summoned as much of her power as she could, centering them in between the palms of her hands. The sphere of light at her chest pulsed. Her knees gave way, and she fell to the floor. It pulsed again, only with more strength this time, and Kagome could feel the invisible line that connected her to the voice within her mind. Her eyes opened, both glowing a slightly white-blue light that was unseen to all but one youkai. The light pulsed again, and this time the light in her palms disappeared with it. _Thank you._

            Kagome smiled to herself before she fell on all fours, gasping for breath.

            The pink light travelled the length of the sword and placed itself around Sesshoumaru's body. Instantly, the pain was dulled to a small prick around his body. He watched the miko's eyes glow white-blue even as the pink light licked his form. In the light of the Tessaiga, his body disappeared as he was transported out of the line of danger.

            Everyone was silent as the light disappeared. Five deep gouges marked the earth where Sesshoumaru had last been standing. All eyes, except one, were focused on Inuyasha and his sword. Slowly, Inuyasha sheathed his sword, silently congratulating himself for finally ridding themselves of his half-brother. He turned back to his group of companions. Sango and Miroku both smiled widely and hugged each other, looking absolutely ecstatic. Shippo rushed over to Inuyasha, squealing with joy as he fiercely hugged his hero. Inuyasha could not help but laugh back at their antics. But something seemed to bother him.

            That something happened to be Kagome. Only then did he notice that she was crouching on the ground, her breathing laboured, although much more fluidly than before. Her eyes were downcast and held no joy. There was an odd look of satisfaction in them, but also confusion. Slowly, she sat back on her heels, her hands rising to cover her eyes.

            The once clamouring group fell silent as their eyes fell on her. Kagome noticed the sudden silence that enveloped the group and quickly got to her feet, plastering on a wide smile. She walked to Inuyasha, and threw her arms around him. "You did it, Inuyasha!" she cried with joy. She knew she was lying but could not bring herself to say what had happened just yet.

            Inuyasha smiled a cocky smile, brushing away Kagome's hands. "Of course I did! Were you expecting Sesshoumaru to win?" he said, rolling his eyes.

            Toutousai sneaked out from behind the tree that he had been hiding behind, Myoga on his shoulder. He looked around with his huge circular eyes, and then turned his eyes onto Inuyasha with a blank look on his face. "You didn't win," he said simply.

            Kagome silently cringed at his words. Everyone else doubled on him. "What do you mean I didn't win?" Inuyasha yelled more than said. "Are you senile, you crazy old fool? He's dead, isn't he? To me, that means I won!"

            Toutousai reached out and smacked Inuyasha hard across the head with his mallet. "He's not dead," he said in his crackly voice. "Didn't you feel his youchi disappear just _before_ the full force of the attack hit him? Plus, Tensaiga would never allow his master to be killed. That's one of its main purposes. I built that sword, I know."

            Inuyasha stopped rubbing his head where Toutousai had smacked him to think on what he had said. "Come to think of it," he said slowly, "I didn't feel the sword rip through anything. It just sort of glided through the air." The happiness vanished from his face. He looked away moodily and turned to lead them away all the while grumbling under his breath.

            Kagome rushed to his side, taking note of his balled fists and low growling. She placed her hand on his shoulder and smiled at him genuinely. "Inuyasha, you may not have killed him, but you did save us. Again, I might add."

            Inuyasha stopped and looked at her concern filled eyes. A small smile played at his lips as he took in her smile. "I guess I did that," he said slowly.

            Kagome's smile widened. "Not only that, you discovered the Wound of the Wind. Now no one can even think of hurting us. And I bet Naraku is shaking in his boots as we speak!"

            Inuyasha ignored her strange words, and swelled with pride. He continued his walking, holding his head higher than before. Kagome waited for the others to join them, and then continued their journey for the jewel shards. She still didn't tell them about what had actually happened, mainly because she was not sure either what had happened. All she remembered was the voice in her head and how she could not help but comply by its wishes. And no one seemed to have even realised that she had even done anything since they were all so entrapped with the battle. And Kagome wasn't one to complain, so she went along with them, saving the information for when it was absolutely necessary. She did, however, do one last thing, unconsciously of course.

            A small, pale pink light left her body, rising above her form, heading due south.


	5. Fulldemon Inuyasha vs Sesshoumaru

I do not own Inuyasha

****

**Full-demon Inuyasha vs. Sesshoumaru**

            Sesshoumaru walked through the dense forest, keeping track of the conversation between Jacken and Rin at the back of his thoughts. Jacken was once again trying to persuade Rin to stop following them through trivial insults which he obviously thought would make any one runaway crying. Rin, on the other hand, was doing a decently well job of completely ignoring the toad. In fact, at that very moment, she was having a ball just picking weeds that sprouted out randomly from the ground.

            Jacken had asked Sesshoumaru many times, with many suffering hours of begging, to dispose of the little human girl, and in all honesty, Sesshoumaru could see no reason of why he should give her the privilege to continue following them. After all, if it was any other demon that allowed humans to follow him (Inuyasha for example), Sesshoumaru would have looked down at them with disdain and would have deemed them as unworthy of his respect. But he continued to silently accept the presence of the child.

            Somehow, she just wasn't as offensive as other humans that he'd come across of. She was happy and polite, though her grammar needed some improving, as did that of all other humans. _Except for hers…but that doesn't matter at the moment_.

            He had brought Rin back to life as a test for Tensaiga; that he knew was true. But he would never have even considered the idea had Rin, though in a very pathetic manner, not had tried to help him while he was still recovering from Tessaiga's attack. Through her actions, Rin had proved herself to Sesshoumaru to a point where he was willing to accept her presence.

            Suddenly, Sesshoumaru halted to a stop as a slow wind reached his nose. He tested the air cautiously. His eyes widened as he recognized the scent that danced on the wind. "Stay here!" he commanded. In two seconds flat he had disappeared from their sight and was well on his way towards his half-brother.

            Kagome sat frozen in her place, looking at the old man lying on the ground. She reached out with shaking hands and took the sword she had seen so many times in Inuyasha's hands from the old man. She wanted more than anything to run to Inuyasha. "Tessaiga?!" she breathed with silent horror. "Where's Inuyasha? Where is he?" she asked, looking around desperately. Around her were a group of outlaw raiders, bodies of dead villagers, a few quivering village women that had gathered around each other in order to attract the least amount of attention, and a huge cocoon.

            Looking around, she noticed a man with a high pony tail sitting on a log near the cocoon, the shrivelled body of a villager at his feet. Just by looking at him she knew that he was a youkai, and she was willing to bet that cocoon somehow or other came from him.

            At her voice and Sango's brief attack on them, they were bustling about, waiting for orders. It was then that Kagome noticed that the leader was watching her with evident malevolence. "Oh?" he said in his cutting voice. "It's a tasty looking woman. Catch her!"

            With that said, the bandits moved into position, forming a circle around Kagome, the old man and his grandson, Sango, and Kirara. They didn't wait long, but started to attack all at once. Sango and Kirara fought hard to keep them safe. Kagome wanted more than anything to find Inuyasha and hand him the sword. She looked out with her miko powers, sensing him to be inside the cocoon. She made a move as to rush over to him, but it was at that moment that the cocoon was tore open from inside, Inuyasha jumping out of it.

            Kagome sighed a sigh of relief, but soon realised that now was definitely not the time for that. Inuyasha's eyes were blood red and his claws extra sharp. He had turned into a full demon!

            Without giving them a chance, Inuyasha tore threw the line of bandits, ripping them limb from limb, their blood cover the whole ground and his deadly claws. Kagome could not even bring herself to breathe. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Miroku getting to his feet and rushing to Sango's help, Shippo staying close to Kirara and the safety that she offered.

            Within seconds almost all the bandits had been slaughtered. A few of them ran for their lives, only reaching the edge of the village before they were intersected by Inuyasha.

            Kagome's hands tightened their grip around Tessaiga, her vision blurred by the tears that threatened to fall. _This is wrong, he's slaughtering them_, she thought with fear. She knew she had to stop him; Inuyasha would never kill humans so ruthlessly. He wasn't killing them because he wanted to; he probably didn't even know what he was doing. Her mind resolved she ran towards him, Shippo hot on her trail as he realised what she was up to.

            The bandits sank to the ground with a look of pure helplessness and fear. "S-save us!" one of them begged. Inuyasha looked on with indifference.

            "All we did was follow the boss' orders," another one put in. The look on Inuyasha's face reminded Kagome impossibly of his half-brother, Sesshoumaru. The cruel indifference was unmistakeable. "Please forgive us!"

            "That's enough Inuyasha," Kagome called, coming to a stop just behind the bandits. Both Miroku and Sango had followed her, leaving Kirara to protect the villagers. Shippo jumped onto Kagome's shoulder as soon as she stopped running. "They're begging for their lives!" she said incredulously, trying to force some sense to Inuyasha's blood crazed mind.

            Inuyasha's face broke into a smile, a bloodied hand raising up in front of him.

            "He can't even hear Kagome-sama's voice!" Miroku said incredulously.

            Kagome felt her heart break as she watched Inuyasha's face._ He's smiling…even though he's about to kill people!_ She broke into a run again holding the sword in front of her. "Inuyasha, take back the sword," she urged. "Go back to your former self!"

            Inuyasha's raised his hand further up, cracking them menacingly. Suddenly his face faulted. He back flipped away from Kagome and the bandits to about ten meters away from the edge of the town. Kagome watched as he turned to look towards the forest, and she followed his gaze. _This is not what we need right now_, was her mind's only coherent reply.

            About halfway across the space towards the forest, stood the white silhouette of none other than Sesshoumaru in all his glory.

            "Sesshoumaru?!" the monk said with apprehension. Sesshoumaru looked at him from the corner of his eyes. The monk, the taijia, and the kitsune were looking at him with fear and disbelief. The little miko, however surprising that might be, showed no fear, only a look of great fatigue. His eyes lingered on her for a moment, once more dressed in her odd and revealing clothes, before looking at the massacre that was before him. He could smell Inuyasha's blood lust and excitement even from where he stood. He looked back to Inuyasha, a pitying smirk on his lips.

            "Come on, Inuyasha!" he taunted silently. "Show me how strong your transformed self is!"

            Inuyasha did not hesitate any more. He leaped into the air, aiming towards Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru pulled out his Toukijin, and blocked Inuyasha's attack just by the sheer force of the sword. But Inuyasha was persistent. He punched aside the blade, something that no one had yet done.

            Inuyasha jumped back to his original place, preparing for another onslaught. His arms wore covered with gashes that were bleeding furiously.

            "That's enough, Inuyasha," the little miko yelled desperately. Sesshoumaru could scent her tears in the air. "Oh please, just stop!"

            The hanyou paid no heed to her words, making a move towards Sesshoumaru again. Without hesitation, Sesshoumaru slashed his sword towards Inuyasha, sending a flash of deadly magic towards his half-brother. Inuyasha was thrown back over twenty feet.

            The miko ran a little further towards the two before her friends stopped her. "Please, Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru…Sesshoumaru-sama, please, just STOP!" Sesshoumaru almost faulted upon hearing her call him 'Sesshoumaru-sama'. He knew that was her way of getting him to do what she wanted, but it was still shocking.

            Inuyasha was standing again, his eyes filled with blood lust. He ran towards Sesshoumaru, bringing him back to their duel. _Does he never tire?_ He asked himself, eyeing the cuts and gashes all over Inuyasha's body. Then, without warning, he realised something.

            His eyes opened slightly as he understood the secret. It was clear to him now. He knew why his brother transformed. He knew what would eventually happen to him if he were to stay in his youkai form for too long. He realised the danger it posed to his family's hard won reputation. And he knew that there was very few choices left to save his name. Inuyasha had to die.

He drew out his poison whip and slashed it across the once hanyou creature, cutting through his fire rat haori and part of his chest. The hanyou made no sign of realising the pain that should have been coursing through his body. He pounced towards Sesshoumaru, hot blood pouring from his open wound. Again, Sesshoumaru's whip made contact with the hanyou, this time across his left shoulder and part of his neck. And again, the hanyou did not acknowledge the pain. He continued with his mindless assault. Sesshoumaru flicked back his whip for the final blow.

"NO!" the miko girl screamed. Sesshoumaru ignored her, and attacked his prey. Before he knew what had happened, however, his whip had dematerialized upon contact with a faint blue shield. He moved annoyed, golden eyes onto the source of the resistance.

Kagome stood within the shield along with all the other members of their group and Inuyasha, her eyes clouded with a misty suggestion of the miko's incredible prowess. The fully transformed Inuyasha, unmindful of the shield, jumped high into the air to attack Sesshoumaru again, only to be rebounded by the ever present shield. He fell to the ground with confusion. He eyed the blue-white wall cautiously, and then turned angry, red eyes onto Kagome.

Sesshoumaru could see that the hanyou was about to attack the miko, and he knew full well that he had no idea of what he actually was doing; but he did nothing to stop him. Tensaiga pulsed uncomfortably at his side.

Kagome watched with horror as Inuyasha charged towards her, knowing full well that she did not have the strength to protect herself against him. Worry filled her with every step that he took towards her. She was mindful of Shippo who sat on her shoulder and was trying to hide behind her hair. She cursed herself for putting him in danger. Then, suddenly, she was hit with the full force of her idiotism. She smacked herself across the forehead, lifted Shippo off her shoulder, and threw him to Sango who caught him without a pause.

Quickly, she turned back to Inuyasha. "Inuyasha…" she said in a hesitant voice, not wanting to hurt her friend even under these conditions. "Oswary!"

He was down even before he knew what had happened.

Surprise flickered across the demon lord's face as he registered another one of the girl's extraordinary abilities.

She approached his still form cautiously, finally letting go of her shield. She knew he was unconscious but still in his demon form. She felt anger flare within her as she gently healed the wounds on his body. _How dare he do this to Inuyasha?_

Sesshoumaru watched with amusement as the miko turned her anger filled eyes onto him. She, a mere _human_, was glaring full force at him, Lord of the Western Lands. The corners of his mouth twitched with the effort of not laughing outright at the angry miko. She lifted one delicate eyebrow with annoyance, silently willing him to explain himself.

He turned his back on her promptly, saying as he walked away, "If you want him to return back to his hanyou form, give him my father's fang." He paused mid-stride, turning his head to look back at her, his eyes dancing with hatred, amusement, and warning all at the same time. "When he turns into a demon, he fights for the pleasure. He is incapable of controlling himself and will die in his quest for the pleasure of tearing through living flesh. He loses his mind. He won't recognize anyone," his eyes hardened suddenly, "even those he might love."

With that said and done, he summoned his nimbus and stepped onto it. He sat down on it cross legged and willed it to carry him away, leaving behind a very confused and conflicted miko.


	6. Uh oh, I Sense Trouble!

I do not own Inuyasha.

**Uh oh, I Sense Trouble!**

            Kagome climbed up the ladder leaning against the wall of the well in their well house. She tossed her big, yellow bag over the rim of the well and soon followed it in its path. She landed with the grace of numbed practice. She opened the well house door and walked out into the sun filled yard of their family shrine. She took in a deep breath, welcoming the feeling of finally being home. She had managed to persuade Inuyasha to let her come back for two weeks without any interruptions. Two weeks of complete bliss smack in the middle of summer vacation. She smiled gloriously at the thought and rushed inside of the house.

            Her mother was standing over the oven, stirring some vegetables and chicken for stir fry. Her brother was in the back of the kitchen, squeezing lemons for some fresh lemonade. Her grandfather, too, was busy helping prepare lunch as he chopped some lettuce for the salad. She smiled at the homely picture that met her eyes.

"Hi everyone, I'm back," she called cheerfully from the door, waving happily at them all. Mrs. Higurashi looked up with surprise, dropping her stirring spoon in the process. Her face lit up with a warm smile and she hurried forward to hug her daughter.

"Kagome, dear, how have you been?" she said, pulling back slightly to check her over for cuts and bruises. When she was satisfied, she pulled Kagome into another bone-crushing hug.

Kagome hugged her mother back, waving to her grandpa and brother from behind her mother. After her mother had finally let go of her, and she could breathe normally again, they all moved back into the kitchen. Kagome put down her backpack by the door, opened the cupboard doors and set about setting the table.

For the first time in weeks, Kagome had the chance to finally sit around a table with her family, all eating the delicious food that her mother had prepared. It wasn't as though she didn't enjoy eating or spending time with her friends. Even though she was really close with them and loved them more than they thought possible, they still couldn't fill her family's place in her heart. And after spending three straight weeks with Inuyasha and his incessant grumbling, she thought she well deserved her two week long vacation.

"I'm going to be staying for at least two whole weeks, this time," she said as she drank some lemonade. She sighed with satisfaction and leaned back in her chair.

"That's great Sis," Souta said from across the table. "Is Inuyasha coming to visit?"

Kagome sighed. "No, Souta," she said patiently. "I told him not to bother me. I just want to spend two weeks of peace with you guys and my friends. I've missed you too much to want to go back to that demon infested time. You have no idea how annoying it gets to be constantly put down because of your race. Stupid taiyoukais and their huge egos!" She mumbled the last part under her breath so no one could here it. She got to her feet and stretched. "I'm gonna to take a shower and then take a loooong nap. That's if that's okay with everyone else."

"Sure honey. You enjoy yourself while you have the chance," her mother said to her, also getting up. "You go put your stuff away while I'll go and draw you a bath."

"Thanks, Mom," Kagome replied with a smile. "You're the best Mom ever!"

 "You're nothing but a cold blooded bastard," Kikyou said in a cool voice, refusing to show any fear for the demon lord before her.

"As true as that maybe," he answered with cold hatred. His nose was slightly wrinkled from the smell of dirt and dead flesh that rose from the once dead miko. "You still have crossed my lands without my permission and that calls for a punishment. Now, prepare yourself."

Kikyou fought to hide the shiver that shook her spine from the cold look in the Lord's eyes. She frowned with anger and raised her bow, knocking an arrow at the same time. Sesshoumaru made no move to escape. Kikyou fired the arrow, her nervousness making her lose her aim. The arrow landed a few inches behind Sesshoumaru in the dirt, still glowing a soft purple.

Sesshoumaru smirked coldly at her. "I much rather prefer your incarnate," he said as he jumped into the air, poising his claws into a deathly position. "At least she puts up a good fight."

His claws brushed the side of Kikyou's face as she managed to jump away at the last second. She lifted one shaky hand to her cheek and wiped away some of the blood that was trickling down her face. It was her turn to smile. She straightened up and dropped her bow and arrows in one swift movement. She turned bemused eyes onto the youkai lord. "My, my, Lord Sesshoumaru," she said casually, "I must say I'm impressed. You're the first youkai to have given me a flesh wound." Sesshoumaru corked an eyebrow with doubt. He was trying hard not to roll his eyes at her silly and irrelevant remark. "But you say you'd rather face the incarnate. Well, if that's what you want…"

Her eyes hardened suddenly, and her hands traced complicated patterns in the air. Sesshoumaru tensed with apprehension; but before he could even attempt to move, golden ropes were wrapping themselves around him. He moved to tear them apart only to have them tighten about him painfully.

"What's the matter Sesshoumaru-sama?" Kikyou mocked with apparent pleasure.

"Witch, what have you done?" Sesshoumaru clipped coldly.

"Nothing, my Lord. I am merely sending you to find a more worthy opponent than myself." She smiled triumphantly at him. With that said and done, Kikyou placed the last piece of her spell onto the struggling demon lord.

Sesshoumaru was growling angrily, making a mental note not to play around with miko's, especially ones that had been known for their strength, when the spell was completed. His growls were cut short as he disappeared from the forest. He felt as though he was being pulled forward by a hook placed at his naval. He was helpless to do anything but to watch as blurred colours swirled around him in an enchanting pattern.

Finally, he felt his feet touch solid ground after what seemed to be hours. The colours stopped their twirling and took shape, and a cool breeze played through his hair. His first reaction as he looked around the foreign land he had landed on was to hold his nose at the overwhelmingly strong human stench that surrounded him.

Kagome stretched her finally rested muscles. She rolled over onto her side on her bed and yawned. She robbed her eyes and blinked to adjust to the morning light that filled her room. Lazily, she sat up on her bed, throwing her legs over the bed as she looked at the clock on her nightstand. According to it, she had exactly one hour to get ready for her day out with her friends. She quickly brought out a change of clothes and rushed to the shower. Once she felt squeaky clean and had changed into a cool sundress, she went downstairs for some breakfast.

Her grandfather was already out and greeting visitors and Souta had gone to his friend's house to spend the day. That left Kagome and her mother to have breakfast together in a rare peaceful moment in their busy lives. They didn't talk much, each preferring the silence as they enjoyed the other's company. Kagome finished her breakfast quickly enough with ten minutes to spare before she had to meet her friend's at the shrine's entrance. She helped her mother wash the dishes and put away the breakfast dishes.

"What do you think I should make for lunch?" her Mom asked thoughtfully.

"I don't know," Kagome said thoughtfully. "How about some pizza? If you wait, I can help you with putting the toppings on when I come home."

"That's an idea. I'll wait for you then," her Mom said with a smile. "But you know if I'm going to make pizza, I should probably get to making the dough."

"You do that," Kagome said looking at her watch. "But I've got to go now. I'll see you in a few hours." She walked up to her Mom and kissed her on the cheek. "Bye!"

"Good bye dear!" her Mom called back from the kitchen as Kagome put on her shoes. She rolled open the back door, and stepped out into the sunlit world of her time.

It was moderately hot and the sun shone down with a purpose, but a cool breeze played the air, helping keep the day fresh and pleasant. Kagome jumped down the steps of the shrine two at a time. She could just make out the forms of her friends from near the end of the street, all of them rushing excitedly towards her house.

They all reached the bottom of the shrine steps at the same time. "Hey –,"

"Kagome!" Yuma said excitedly, not waiting to hear Kagome. "You have to see this!"

"What?" Kagome said with confusion.

"Omigodomigodomigodomigod!!!" Lira said excitedly, dragging Kagome with the help of Yuma and Tammy.

"What? What's the matter?" Kagome asked again.

"We just saw the coolest thing," Lira chirped happily.

"There is this totally hot guy –,"

"—though he's dressed pretty oddly --,"

"—and it looks as though he's some kind of a dangerous criminal –,"

"—and there were all these cops and scary looking people who were circling around him --,"

"—and he looked really pissed off, as though he was just about to kill them all!" Yuma finished happily.

Kagome blinked several times, trying to register the flock of information that she had just received. She had an ominous feeling about it, and she couldn't figure out why. She allowed her friends to guide her forward, all the while mindful of the tingling feeling growing at the back of her stomach.

Sesshoumaru looked around irritably at the pathetic humans that were gathered around him. They were all holding strange weapons that were pointed towards him, warning him not to cause any trouble. Sesshoumaru was half tempted to cut off every single person's head for trying to order him about. But he held back, cautious about the strange weapons that posed a potential danger. And the overwhelming scent of humans and toxins was making it hard for him to concentrate.

He stood in the middle of a black, rough road with white and yellow lines drawn onto the level surface. A good hundred metal boxes set on plastic wheels could be seen from every direction, human heads poking out of little rectangular openings on the sides. On both sides of the wide path were very oddly shaped buildings, all tall and rectangular with rectangular and glassed windows. He was highly aware of every eye that watched him for the slightest movement.

It was then that a familiar and highly unexpected scent reached his nose. It was the scent of water lilies mixed with that of thunderstorms. His eyes widened slightly as he remembered the last words spoken by the dead miko. _"I am merely sending you to find a more worthy opponent than myself."_  Her words echoed in his mind and his eyes searched through the crowd of humans as he finally matched the scent with the right person.

"Kagome-chan!" The word confirmed his belief and his eyes darted towards the direction from which the sound came from.

There was no doubt as to who his eyes saw next. She was being half dragged, half led towards him by three other humans. Her clothes were different than the usual green skirt and white shirt she normally were. She was dressed in a one piece robe that hung to her upper torso, and then flowed freely to her knees. Her dark, silky hair flowed freely about her in the wind, reflecting the sun's brilliant shine. He could sense her uneasiness, as though she knew something was amiss. Subconsciously, he noted yet another one of her well kept secrets. His eyes narrowed at his own lack of knowledge about his enemy and he began to growl quietly.


	7. A Taiyoukai in the Twenty First Century

I DON'T OWN INUYASHA

**A Taiyoukai in the Twenty First Century**

She was definitely aware of the presence of a youkai now. At first, she thought it might have been Inuyasha who had broken his promise to leave her alone. But she dismissed the idea, knowing that Inuyasha would never attempt to harm her world and cause such disturbance. For one horror filled moment she thought it might be Naraku, but she felt no Shikon shards; Naraku never went anywhere without his share of the jewel.

"Kagome-chan!" Tammy chirped happily. "Look, there he is!"

Kagome turned to look at Tammy. She was pointing towards the center of the street where a large group of people were gathered. She could just make out the police and the squad teams that were almost at the center of the people. She knew that the cause of the problem must be at the very center, but she was too far away to see who or what it was. Her friends were still dragging her on, trying to push through the crowd to a place from where they could see well.

It was then that she felt it. It was that feeling that you get when you think someone is watching you, but you can't see them. She could feel the hair on the back of her neck rise, and her senses were screaming at her that she was getting closer and closer to a youkai, a very powerful one at that. She swallowed dryly, and stopped walking.

"Guys," she said in a quiet voice, making her friends turn around and look at her curiously. "I don't think it's safe to be here."

"Ah, come on, Kagome," Lira said disappointedly. "What do you think all these police people are here for?"

"Yeah, Kag," Yuma put in, "there's nothing to worry about. You should see the guy they're trying to arrest. He's sooo hot."

"Yeah, how did you say it?" Lira asked Tammy absent-mindedly.

"Oh…um…hot shit on plate," Tammy answered.

They began dragging her by her arms again. Kagome resisted, making them stop again. "I said no," she said with an air of finality. "I'm not going any closer. You guys go if you like, but --,"

She never finished the rest of her sentence as the crowd chose that moment to gasp, some even screaming. The sound of gun shots filled the air, and the people gathered began to run around in disarray, trying to get as far away as possible. Kagome felt herself being separated from her friends and shoved against a store window. She gasped for breath only to have it forced out of her as someone else collided painfully against her.

She managed to push away from the window and squeeze out of the crushing crowd and into a nearby alleyway. She leaned her hand against the wall, gasping for breath. But soon she completely froze as the tingling feeling increased noticeably. She knew that the demon was close by, too close for her comfort. Slowly, she turned to look back the way she had come. Her eyes widened with shock.

His figure blocked the way out of the alleyway. She could just make out the people running around on the street, none of them aware of the danger that she was in. She wanted to scream, to call for help, but knew better than to show weakness while in the presence of the great Taiyoukai of the Western Lands.

_Okay, don't panic, just don't panic! Yeah, right! As if that's possible!_ She thought to herself as she swallowed hard.His eyes were narrowed in his characteristic look of annoyance, his face void of all emotions. His eyes were boring into her as though he could see into her soul, making her want to shiver. The morning breeze played with his long, white hair and the sun shone through his eyes. For a moment, Kagome could see why her friends were so excited about him. She quickly pushed away the thought and the blush that tried to surface. She looked back at him defiantly, waiting to see whether he was just going to stand there all day or actually do something.

Sesshoumaru felt the corners of his mouth twitch as different emotions played across her face and scent. It went from nervousness to flat out terrified, to excitement, to embarrassment, to defiance, and finally to that of annoyance. That was one thing about the girl; you always knew what she was thinking by just looking at her face or taking a whiff of her intoxicating scent. Sesshoumaru frowned at the last part of his thoughts, waiting for her to explain.

"Well," she said irritably, "are you gonna tell me what _you_ are doing _here_?"

"I might ask you the same thing," was his emotionless remark.

Kagome huffed with annoyance, _why that stupid, egotistical jackass!_ "This is where I'm from. This is my home. You, I believe, live five hundred years in the past. So, _what_ are you doing here?" she hissed.

Sesshoumaru frowned, '_five hundred years in the past', crazy, human, fool!_ "You mean to tell me that that bitch sent me five hundred years into the future?" he scuffed.

"I'm not sure who you're talking about, but yes, you're five hundred years in the future. Unless, that is, you have somehow managed to age during those five hundred years but look exactly the same." _And I wish I could age that gracefully_, she smiled as the though ran through her head.

Sesshoumaru eyed her warily in her odd and inappropriate clothing. He remembered how everyone here was dressed in odd clothes, and that one of the girls who had previously been dragging her had been dressed in the exact same clothes as the miko was usually clad in. He took in another sniff of her scent, his muscles relaxing from the escape of the day's previous stench, and smelled no sign of falsehood. He raised one of his eyebrows in a curious manner. "So you are from the future?"

His question made Kagome want to slap herself across the forehead. She cursed herself for letting that piece of information slip, but knew it was too late to come up with a lie. She sighed regretfully and turned her brown eyes back to him. Hesitantly, she nodded her head.

"You have the ability to go back and forth in time?"

"Sort of," Kagome mumbled under her breath.

Sesshoumaru nodded as well. He looked around the dingy alleyway, his mind on how to get her to send him back when she was his enemy, a very uncooperative one at that.

Kagome watched him curiously. After what seemed like five minutes, she took a hesitant step towards him. "Um…are you stuck here?"

His steely eyes flashed towards her but he made no answer.

Kagome decided to try again. "'Cause, you know, if you were, I might be able to help you go back." Surprise flashed across his normally stoic face, and he corked one of his delicate eyebrows at her. Kagome rolled her eyes at him. "You're a danger to my world since few people believe in demons, let alone a Taiyoukai like yourself. I don't want you here, and I don't think you want to be here. So if I'm right, tell me so I could try and take you back."

To say that he was surprised would have been a great understatement. "You would be willing to help an enemy?"

"Like I said, I don't want you here, meaning that I'll be benefiting as well. Plus, it's not like I've never helped you before!"

Sesshoumaru shook his head, trying to ward away an oncoming headache; this miko always somehow managed to surprise him. He let out a small sigh before asking, "When exactly was the last time _you_ helped this Sesshoumaru?"

Kagome waved her hand in the air dismissively. "Never mind, I'll tell you later. Just tell me, do you want to go home?"

_'I'll tell you _later', Sesshoumaru stared at her for the absurdity of what she said. She stared back at him impatiently, then suddenly turned tomato red as she seemed to realise what she had said. She shook her head, dismissing the silly words, and turned back to him for his response. Finally, Sesshoumaru nodded his response.

"Do you promise not to hurt my family and friends if I were to help you?" he gave no answer. "Look Sesshoumaru, there's no way I'm going to help you if I think there's even the smallest chance that you'll hurt them. I don't care what you do to me, but you have no right to hurt them."

He could feel his anger beginning to rise, but he forced it down. "And what makes you think that I won't go back on my word?"

_Why is it that they always ask that question?!_ "Why is it so hard to get you to promise something?" she answered with her own question. "You don't exactly strike me as the lying, traitor type. That's more like Naraku."

"Is that so?" he asked without much interest. "Tell me, what 'type' _do_ I exactly 'strike' you as?"

"We're getting off subject here," she reminded him, not wanting to tell him what she thought of him. "Do you promise or not?"

"Answer my question, woman!" he said coldly.

"Fine, but you can't get mad at me if you don't like my answer," she warned, thinking that if he did not answer her question soon she would leave him here and try to escape him. "You, Lord Sesshoumaru of the Western Lands, strike me as the…cold-blooded, arrogant, conceited, and emotionally constipated, murderer type. Now, do you promise or not?"

Sesshoumaru was torn between killing the miko and proving her analysis of him true for her rudeness, or to applaud her for her bravery. He smirked instead and said, "I promise, for now."

Kagome's eyes flicked to his, and she studied him for a long while. Then she broke into a wide smile and nodded her head. "Good," she said happily. "Okay, let's go then." She walked past him and led the way to the street.

At the end of the alleyway, Sesshoumaru quickly reached out and grabbed the miko's wrist to pull her closer to himself to ward off the stench of this world before it hit him full force.

Kagome let out an 'eep' as she was pulled back suddenly into the youkai lord. She stood frozen for a split second, before she realised where, or rather who she was leaning on and began to struggle to get away.

"Will you stop that?" he hissed irritably over her head.

"Will you let go?" she asked back.

Sesshoumaru feigned a thinking look on his face. "No."

Kagome whirled around incredulously. "What? What do you mean 'no'?"

Sesshoumaru let out a soft growl and kept his eyes on the street before them. "Lead the way."

"Argh! How am I supposed to do that if you're keeping me from moving?"

"I'm doing no such thing," he answered back shortly. "You are perfectly capable of moving as is."

Kagome thought this over, then decided to test that theory. And indeed she could do so. He was just holding her close to him, but was not preventing her from moving. Looking quizzically over her shoulder at him, she continued on her way. "Are you going to tell me why you're holding my hand?" she said as they stepped into the now empty street.

The pressure on her wrist increased until she hissed with pain and then released. "No."

_Argh__, he's impossible! The pompous Jack ass!_

They walked back the same way that Kagome had come with her friends about half an hour ago. She glanced back at him every once in a while. The youkai lord was looking around at the buildings, but he seemed to be most interested in the cars.

Kagome let out an irritable sigh, feeling uncomfortable in the silence that had fallen on them. "They're called cars, or sometimes automobiles," she said as they passed a red convertible. "They're like our version of carriages. Only they run on gasoline instead of horses, and are a whole lot faster. The bad thing, though, is that they are very bad for the environment. They are constantly emitting dangerous gasses and pollutants into the air. That's why we have a hole in the ozone layer, and it's only getting bigger as time goes by. We still haven't found out a good, economical way to travel. Did you know we can travel to the other side of the world in less than a day. I don't know if you'd heard of the Americas during your time yet. That's around the same time that Columbus discovered the Americas. I don't think people in Japan new about them though. But maybe youkai did since they could travel much more quickly and could have even gone to the Americas. I should ask Miroku or Inuyasha the next time--,"

"Do you always talk so much, woman?" Sesshoumaru said in his smooth voice.

Kagome huffed irritably and fell silent. Her anger was making her scent all the more stronger to Sesshoumaru's joy, although of course he would never show his joy.

The miko stopped at a set of steps that led to a shrine. She was eyeing him and then the shrine contemplatively. Finally, she let out a long sigh and started up the steps only to be stopped by Sesshoumaru. "Where are you taking me?"

"My house. There is a well in there. That's how I travel back and forth. But if that doesn't work, then I can always ask my grandfather."

He allowed her to continue up the stairs. They arrived at a relatively large yard. From their current position, Sesshoumaru could see what could only have been the tree that he's brother had been pinned to for half a century. The yard itself was empty, and there was a house near the back of the shrine. The miko led the way to the end of the yard and stopped by a well house. She pushed open the door and walked inside, Sesshoumaru at her heels.

"I jump through the well," she pointed to the well at the center of the well house. "It takes me straight to Inuyasha's forest, five hundred years ago. Try it."

"Do not presume you can give orders to me," Sesshoumaru said, walking to the edge of the well, eyeing it sceptically. "Show me."

Kagome blinked with surprise. "Show you," she repeated slowly. "Oh, you don't believe the well works. Fine, I'll show you, but you better hope Inuyasha's not on the other side. I swear, if I have to give up my two weeks of vacation, there's going to be trouble."

Sesshoumaru ignored her and pointed for her to demonstrate. She shrugged and moved to show him. Sesshoumaru watched with concealed amazement as the miko disappeared in a swirl of blue light. A few minutes passed, the blue light lit the well house once more, and the miko reappeared at the bottom of the well. She climbed back up the well and sat at the lip of the well, waiting for him to jump in. With one last look at the miko, Sesshoumaru did just that. He felt his feet touch the ground and looked up.

Above him was the roof of the well house and the miko's dangling legs as she sat on the well's wall.

"It did not work," he said as he jumped out of the well in one leap.

"Well I could have told you that, Mr. Obvious!" Sesshoumaru let out a growl at this. The miko shook her head and rolled her eyes. "No offence was meant Great Youkai Lord. No seriously, I didn't think it would work anyway, it would have been too easy. Plus, me and Inuyasha are the only people I know of who can come through the well. How about we jump in at the same time? Maybe it'll let you through when it's letting me through."

Without a warning, Sesshoumaru grabbed the miko from around the waist and jumped back into the well. Again, the miko let out an 'eep' of surprise, and again nothing happened. They stayed at the bottom of the well, Sesshoumaru eyeing the well and the miko irritably.

"Are you going to let go of me?" Kagome said with annoyance, uncomfortable with the youkai's proximity.

Sesshoumaru growled and pushed the miko away from himself. "I was sent here by a miko's spell, the same miko whose incarnation you are." He smiled at her surprise. She did not know that he knew that about her. "You are a miko, you should be able to send me back. So do it already."

Kagome ignored his order. "You know, you're the first person to have not mistaken me for Kikyou herself. People usually automatically assume that I'm her despite the fact that she's been dead for fifty odd years."

"Will you concentrate?" he growled with his claws positioned near her fragile throat.

The miko let out a short chuckle, her eyes dancing with amusement. "Now really, Sesshoumaru-sama, did you really think I would fall for that? I'm you're only way of getting out of here, you're not about to kill me, at least not until you're back to your time. Now, back to business. You say Kikyou sent you here? That's good for you, cause then I could definitely do something to counter it. Come on," she said and began to climb up the ladder once more. "I'm sure Ji-chan would know of something. Although I should warn you, he…kinda disapproves of youkai." She suddenly let out a happy laugh. "_You_ would have enjoyed seeing him chasing Inuyasha around the house, trying to stick ofundas on him, and yelling 'demon, be gone'! Ah, the good old times," she said wistfully.

"You are right," Sesshoumaru said, surprising even himself. "I would have enjoyed that. Now, stop wasting my time and take me to the old man!"

_Why that stupid, self-centred, rude bastard!_ The thought ran through Kagome's mind without opposition from Kagome. She was tempted to purify the demon lord right then and there but she knew better than to try. Instead she shook her head, and led the way back to the courtyard.

Her grandfather was nowhere to be seen. She had searched the tourists' booth, the tomato patch, and even the sitting area around Goshinboku which was strictly for ceremonial purposes. But no matter where she looked, she could not find him. She could feel Sesshoumaru's impatience, and she was quickly becoming desperate to find her grandfather.

She stopped at the sliding door that led to the kitchen of her house. She turned around and looked at the irritable looking youkai. She cleared her throat cautiously. "Sesshoumaru-sama," it couldn't hurt to be polite in dangerous situations, "I can't find my grandfather --,"

Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to snort at the obvious remark. Instead, he settled for glaring at her.

Kagome reached up with her free hand to rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "We can go inside and wait for him there," she suggested.

Sesshoumaru eyed the house suspiciously, carefully scenting the air surrounding it. What he smelled almost made his mouth water; almost. There was the smell of bread, vegetables, and frying meat. He could also catch the faint scent of at least one human. "Who is within the house?"

Kagome looked at him with surprise before remembering his strong sense of smell. "Oh, that's my mom. She's probably just cooking. Which reminds me…"

She drifted off, looking thoughtfully towards the door. Again she swallowed with a sense of nervousness. The last time her mother had met a demon, or rather a half demon, she had ended up rubbing his ears. It would not do to have her trying to do the same thing to Sesshoumaru. She did not want to think what his reaction would be. _Omigod__, what if she says something about how much he looks like Inuyasha? He'll definitely kill her for that, never mind any promises made!_ She snapped out of her reverie when she heard someone clearing their throat. She almost jumped out of her skin with surprise; she had completely forgotten about Sesshoumaru who was now looking at her with one eyebrow raised.

"Sorry about that," she mumbled under her breath. "Look, I've gotta tell you. You'll be the second demon to have ever stepped into this house. They'll…or rather, it's just that…oh hell, just, please, don't hurt them." He made no sign of acknowledgement. "Please, Sesshoumaru, please, please, please don't hurt them. They don't really know what's proper and what's not when it comes to demons and all. They won't mean anything by it."

Sesshoumaru watched her with concealed amusement as she begged him. He wasn't even sure what it was that she was begging him for. But he remained silent, his face schooled into its mask, enjoying the desperate aura that surrounded her.

She watched him with evident worry, waiting for his response. When he didn't make one, she sighed exasperatedly. "I…I promise to do anything if you swear to me that you won't hurt my family."

His eyes danced with surprise, though the rest of his face remained emotionless. "_Any_thing?"

"Anything other than getting the Tessaiga or hurting Inuyasha, so long as it is within my power."

Sesshoumaru allowed an evil smirk to grace his lips. "You have yourself a deal miko. Although, I would not have attacked your family since I had already given my word not to do so."

Kagome's jaw must have reached her knees at least. She simply stood there, just gaping at his completely serious face. _Oh yeah…! Damn it, why didn't the bastard just say so sooner?_ She let out an exasperated sigh, clamping her mouth shut. _The stupid git! Though, you've got to admit, he got you good there!** Oh shut up!**_ She yelled at herself.

She sent him an angry glare, turned to the door, slammed it open and led him into her home.


	8. That Which Started the Change

I do not own Inuyasha.

****

**That Which Started the Change**

Her mother looked up from behind the sink where she was washing some dishes. "You're back so soon," she said smiling at her. Her smile wavered as she saw Sesshoumaru. She looked from the demon to her daughter and back with an odd look on her face. "I didn't know we were having a guest."

"Believe me, me neither," she mumbled. She moved to go to her mom, but she was held back by Sesshoumaru's ever constant grip on her hand. "Will you ever let go?" she said as she lifted her hand in between them.

Sesshoumaru ignored her; he was closely analysing the miko's mother. She had a kind face, quiet similar to that of the miko, and her scent was not as displeasing as that of the other humans.  But she was watching him just as closely as he was watching her. He could tell that she was uncomfortable with him in the house, but she had yet to say anything.

"Hello?!" Kagome waved her free hand in front of his eyes to catch his attention. When he did not even blink, she sighed again and turned back to her mother. "Mom, you don't know where Ji-chan went to do you? Only I'm stuck with this _lovely_ friend of mine from the Feudal Ages, and I _really, really _need to send him back on his way."

Mrs. Higurashi looked back at her daughter. She smiled softly at her. "He went to town. Something about a suspicious situation. It's a good thing you came home; the radio's been reporting this strange and highly dangerous person that just appeared in downtown about an hour ago."

Kagome let out a nervous chuckle. "Yeah…about that. That would have been him," she pointed to Sesshoumaru, "Sesshoumaru, and you can see that he's a demon. I suppose that's why they thought he was dangerous or something, you know. He somehow got himself sent to this world and now he's stuck because I can't take him back through the well." She said all this in a rush, not even sure how much of it her mother understood.

"A demon?" her mother repeated. She tilted her head to the side. "He wouldn't be related to --,"

"So, have you started on the pizza?" she cut in quickly, sending her mother a warning look.

She was glad that she and her mom had such a good understanding of each other, since her mother dropped the subject without a question. "I've only made the dough. Maybe you and your friend can help me while you wait for Ji-chan."

Kagome quickly glanced at Sesshoumaru, and had to fight real hard not to giggle out loud at the look on his face. Her efforts seemed futile since Sesshoumaru seemed to notice her mood anyway. She cleared her throat nervously. "Do you want to help, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

His eyes narrowed dangerously, and he dropped her hand unceremoniously.

"I guess that's as much of an answer I'm going to get from you." She pulled out one of the chairs at the kitchen table. "Here, you could sit here, while me and mother work."

After a long, internal battle, Sesshoumaru sat down stiffly on the wooden chair. He watched as the miko brought out two, metal, flat plates, placing each on the table he sat at. She also produced a deep bowl from within a tightly bound bundle of cloth. It was from this that the smell of the dough came from.

Ignoring the Taiyoukai as he watched her, Kagome washed her hands, and then began to knead the dough to place in the two pans. She could almost sense his curiosity about what they were up to. It felt odd kneading dough as she would do every time her mother made pizza and having one of her most feared enemies sitting across the table from her, watching her with calm curiosity. She didn't know whether to be happy or apprehensive of the change. But he did not seem to notice this, and so she kept her silence.

How wrong she was! Despite his calm exterior, Sesshoumaru's mind was filled with questions. It was only through years of experience that little of this showed on his face. He was also starting to get angry as the miko continued to ignore the fact that he was sitting across from her. His curiosity was growing with each passing minute, as was a mild rage. Yet another nuisance that the miko posed and he was quickly becoming tired of it.

Oddly enough, it was Kagome's mother who broke the silence. "So how did you two meet?" was her innocent sounding question.

Kagome let out a nervous chuckle. "Funny circumstances, if I remember correctly." She glanced at Sesshoumaru, as though checking to see if he had any objections to her telling the truth. "I met him when he was looking for Tessaiga."

"Isn't that Inuyasha's sword?" her mom said thoughtfully.

Again, Kagome laughed nervously. "It's a long story, to tell you the truth. But I'll say this much, Sesshoumaru-_sama_ is actually Inuyasha's brother --,"

She was interrupted by Sesshoumaru's growl. Both mother and daughter were taken by surprise by the foreignness of the sound in their kitchen.

Kagome rolled her eyes at him. "Sorry, they're _half_ brothers. Anyway, they don't exactly get along. Let's just say our first _meeting_," _if you can call it that_, "wasn't exactly as pleasant as it could have been."

Once more, Sesshoumaru found himself resisting the urge to snort at her understatement.

"Interesting," her mother commented with raised eyebrows.

Another very silent ten minutes past. By now, Kagome and her mother had already set the pizzas and had them in the oven.

"**He's a very silent fellow, isn't he?**" her mother said in English as she brought out three cups and a parch of water from the fridge.

Kagome snorted at this. "**You don't know the half of it.**"

"**Is he…dangerous?**"

Kagome glanced at the Taiyoukai. "**Well…under normal circumstances … yes, in fact, very. But I've made him promise not to hurt anyone if he wants my help.**"

Her mother looked at her quizzically. "**And you trust his word?**"

For a long while, Kagome remained silent. Then, in a very sure voice, she said, "**Yes**."

Sesshoumaru kept silent, hiding his surprise at her words hidden behind his mask. He did not want to mention that he could understand the language of the Anglophones. He was quiet surprised that both the miko and her mother were able to converse in it with such ease. As far as he knew, no human had ever gone to the other side of the world. But hadn't the miko said earlier that humans today could travel across the world in no time at all. Then perhaps they knew all about the lands beyond the ocean and China. He found it hard to believe that humans could have gone so far.

"What time is it, Kagome?" Mrs. Higurashi asked as she checked on the pizzas in the oven.

"Just past noon," she said looking at her watch. She cast another glance at the very silent Taiyoukai. "You know, if you want, I could show some of the new things that are in my time. I'm sure there are a lot of things that you've never seen."

Once again, she was completely ignored as the lord kept his steely gaze on Kagome's mother.

_Hopeless,_ Kagome thought to herself. _He's absolutely hopeless._ She sighed, and went to the fridge, bringing out an apple. She then walked out of the kitchen only to return in a few minutes with her backpack. She sat at the table, bringing out her notebook, and a pencil.

Out of the corners of his eyes, he watched as the miko began writing. He could just make out her writing. Smooth strokes were fluidly followed one after the other as she wrote with the strange utensil. She was writing something about Medieval Japan, perhaps about one of her adventures. Just then, the eerie silence in the kitchen was cut by the shrill sound of something. Sesshoumaru looked around with alarm, his ears still ringing slightly.

Casually, the miko walked to the other side of the kitchen, picked up an oddly shaped object from the kitchen counter, pressed something, and talked into it.

"Hello?" she said. He heard the voice of someone else coming through the object and the miko smiled. "I'm fine Tammy. I was kinda worried about you guys…No, I got home okay…" A short pause, and then she cast him a wary look before talking into the object again. "Er…no…I don't know what happened to the…uh…criminal guy." Sesshoumaru raised a curious eyebrow at this, and a light blush covered the miko's cheeks as she rubbed the back of her neck nervously. The voice from the object suddenly changed tunes, as though a new person was talking. "Yuma! No, I'm fine really. I'm home and we're having pizza and everything…no, I'm sure…you did? … Er…about that…" again, another agitated glance towards him, "Um…I'm pretty sure he didn't follow me…"

Listening with apprehension, Kagome could only hope that Sesshoumaru's hearing was not so good that he could actually hear what her friends were saying. First Tammy had called him a sexy criminal babe, and then, even worse, Yuma had called him 'hot shit on plate' again. She could only hope that his youkai senses were not strong enough. She tried to comfort herself by the calmness displayed on his face._ Although, I'm sure he would wear the same expression even if he was about to die_.

"Oh, Kagome, by the way, Lira's on her way to your house." Kagome felt her eyes widen, and she swallowed hard. "She came to check on you; she didn't know if you'd escaped safely."

"H-how long ago was that?"

"Oh…about twenty minutes ago; she should be getting there pretty soon."

_Oh crap!_ "…I gotta go! Bye!"

She didn't even wait for Yuma to say goodbye. She slammed the receiver in the handset holder, and said hurriedly. "Mom, Yuma said Lira's on her way over here!"

Sesshoumaru watched as the panic stricken miko conversed with her mother. Slowly, he rose to his feet, and walked out of the eating area. He was aware of the silence that followed his departure. Within seconds, the miko was back at his heels.

"Where are you going?" she asked in a hesitant voice.

He gave no answer.

Sighing an exasperated sigh, Kagome stomped in front of him and blocked his way. _Yeah, lot of good will this do!_ He cast her a quelling look, making danger alarms go off in her mind, warning her to step out of his way, but she stubbornly stayed put. She swallowed and asked her question again.

"You said one of your human friends was coming to your house. I have no intentions of subjecting myself to anymore humans than necessary. So, now, like a good miko, _get out of my way_!"

Kagome had a hard time keeping her jaw closed. Blinking away her shock, she looked at him beadily. "But where exactly were you going?"

Sesshoumaru remained silent. He was not sure where he had been going; he'd been following his feet to wherever they took him, hopefully away from other humans.

Scoffing with annoyance, Kagome turned her back on him. "Since you don't know where to go, and I don't really trust you anywhere else, I'll show you where to go. Just follow me."

Without waiting for him, or even glancing back to see if Sesshoumaru followed her, she stocked up the stairs of her home towards her room, all the while grumbling. Sesshoumaru, on the other hand, had to exercise real control to keep from beheading the miko right that second. If there was one thing about her that screamed 'inhuman' it would have been her lack of self-preservation. But then again, he had seen many qualities that the miko possessed that dubbed her inhuman. With great reluctance, Sesshoumaru followed the miko to wherever she was taking him.

They stopped at a door on the above level. Without hesitation, the miko swung open the door and walked in, waiting within for him to follow. Upon stepping within the chamber, Sesshoumaru froze as though there was a spell on him. He did not even blink, nor did he even move a limb. The only movement you could see from him was the quick rise and fall of his chest as he took in more and more of the miko's enchanted scent.

It seemed to be so concentrated in this room that Sesshoumaru was sure he could have reached out and touch its very essence. But his mind had become too hazy for him to do more than breathe.

Kagome turned to look back to make sure if Sesshoumaru had followed her since the room was deadly quiet other than for her own movements. To her surprise, the youkai lord was standing just behind her, but he stood so stiffly still that he might as well have been a statue. Somehow, he no longer had the same stoic mask over his face. He was neither frowning nor smiling, neither malicious nor benevolent. No, but his eyes were glazed over with an emotion she could not name. He seemed unfocused and distracted by something. Kagome found it very odd to see the youkai who she marked for his lack of sentiment to be standing before her, completely engrossed with a single emotion. Nervously, Kagome cleared her throat.

The effect was immediate. His eyes flashed red momentarily, and then focused their intense gaze upon her, not even blinking. Even worse, his features now wore his perfected mask of barely contained rage. She gulped dryly with apprehension. "T-this is my r-room," she cursed herself for stammering.

He continued to gaze at her in the same manner, successfully making her own anger climb up the charts.

She resisted the urge to yell at him like she would do with Inuyasha. Instead, she used his own antics against him. She wiped her face of all emotions and looked at him with glassy brown eyes that revealed nothing. "Is something wrong?" her voice was cooler than his, and she could instantly see his surprise at it. But he still stubbornly remained silent, his eyes slightly wider than normal.

"If you have nothing to say, then I'll leave you alone." She turned on her heels and was out of her room within seconds, seething on the inside, cool and icy on the outside.

Standing where the miko had left him, Sesshoumaru continued to sniff the air tentatively. With each breath his lungs filled with the insatiable smell of water lilies and thunderstorms. He liked the scent if not the person, he admitted to himself. It was a calming scent that helped relax his every muscle, and it was such a pleasant change from the toxic smells of this world, and he welcomed it eagerly. He had looked around the room, finding it to be organized, more so than he would have expected from a human's sleeping quarters. On one side of the room was a raised futon. He was highly tempted to lye on it, feel its texture, and smell its scent. But he held back upon remembering who slept upon it. Across from it was a desk, its surface covered with many books. The whole room had an otherworldly quality to it that to him fit the miko's persona perfectly.

He had stayed in his spot in her room for more than a few hours. She had yet to come back and retrieve him. He had heard the entrance of her friend, and had found her to be quiet noisy and fitting his exact description of humans: loud, obnoxious, and rude. The friend had stayed for food and had talked quite excitedly about 'the hot, silver haired bandit with a cute ass' which he soon realised was himself. He silently wondered whether the miko had the same embarrassed look on her face at her friend's loud comments.

There was a soft knock on the door, and the door was slowly opened. The miko's form stepped hesitantly in, closing the door behind her. In the dim light of the afternoon, he could still see a faint blush that coloured her cheeks. "Close your eyes," she commanded in a soft voice. His eyelids drooped shut in their relaxed state. But they snapped back open as soon as he felt the miko's hand over his eyes.

"Just wait," she said before he could react. He heard something click into place, and a faint buzzing sound reached his sensitive ears. "I'm just going to let your eyes adjust to the light slowly. I nearly blinded Inuyasha when I turned on the light for the first time."

If she had thought that she had explained her action to his satisfaction, she was sadly mistaken. Yet Sesshoumaru patiently and curiously awaited her next move. One by one, the miko lifted the fingers of her hand. With the removal of each finger, more light reached his eyes, and he soon realized that it was a lot brighter than it had been a few seconds ago.

Kagome watched him uncertainly as he blinked with curiosity. His eyes darted around the room and spotted the source of the light. He lifted his hand as thought to touch the light bulb.

"You don't want to do that," Kagome warned. "It should be pretty hot by now."

His hand stopped rising and fell to his side as his eyes turned to her. Again, she could see that strange emotion in his eyes though the rest of his face remained neutral.

"It's called a light bulb. Its like a replacement for candles. It converts electric energy into light energy, thus creating light."

Sesshoumaru watched her face closely, he himself wary of the odd feeling at the pit of his stomach.

"My grandfather is home," she continued. "I asked him about how to send you back and he taught me a little spell."

He remained impassive.

"Do you want me to try it on you now?"

Without removing his eyes from her deep brown ones, he gave a curt nod of his head.

"Okay then." Immediately her face turned serious, and her eyes filled with concentration just as it had every time they had come face to face. Her hands, limp at her sides a few seconds ago, flew gracefully through the air in front of her. She traced ancient symbols in her modern world with her fingers, her eyelids drooped shut. She was glowing a faint blue as she cast her spell, and Sesshoumaru could feel the ropes of light wrapping themselves around him, yet he was oddly calm and relaxed. Her hair flaring about her, her eyes snapped open. The light surrounding her darted towards him, and within seconds he was gone from her company, her room, her home, and her time, but not before one last look from her warm eyes.


	9. To Repay a Debt

I do not own Inuyasha.

**To Repay a Debt**

She coughed desperately, trying to empty her lungs of the toxic poison. Her numb legs crumpled beneath her weight and she sank to the ground. Her vision was blurry, but she could just make out Shippo's frightened face as he hovered anxiously about her. With the last of her remaining energy, she summoned a shield around Shippo urging him to run. She watched him disappear into the foggy night as her mind slipped from the conscious world.

The first thing she noticed was someone's raspy laugh from close to her ear. She had never heard it before and it was no less unusual than anyone else's laugh, but it chilled her to the bone, making her want to throw up. Her eyes fluttered open as soon as she felt a pair of cold, clammy hands clasp around her face. What she saw made her regret ever opening her eyes.

It was a short, stocky man, wearing white from head to toe. He even had a white kerchief wrapped over his mouth and nose so you could only see two bulging eyes. The chilling laugh was coming from him as his eyes bore into Kagome's. "Ah," he said. "Finally, my beautiful bride has awoken!"

His hands tightened on Kagome's face and she struggled to get away. It was then that she realized her whole body had been paralysed. Trying to push back full out panic, she settle for glaring at him. "What do you want?" she asked as rudely as she could.

He let out another fit of his laughter, his eyes absolutely dancing with joy. Just then, Kagome noticed something else about the man. She felt no live spirit within him as though he were dead. Perhaps that was why his hands were so cold. But she could also feel the presence of a jewel shard, its faint light coming from just below his Adam's apple. "Now that you're awake, we can finally start the ceremony!"

"What ceremony?" she did not like where this was going.

He lifted one dead hand from her face and brushed it through her hair. If her body was not frozen, Kagome would have shivered. "Our wedding, koi!"

_Oh crap!_ Kagome's eyes widened noticeably, and her breath came in short, abrupt gasps. "W-w-wedding?!"

"Hai, koi," he said as he bent over her form and placed a kiss on her forehead through the cloth that covered his mouth. "Our wedding!"

Cold sweat broke out all over her, making her want to shiver, or retch from his touch. "Who are you?"

He let out another short laugh. "Mukotsu, koi, Mukotsu."

The wind was cool and refreshing, lifting through the trees and his hair. He paused in the path, breathing in the cool night air. His eyes travelled to the bright silvery sphere of the moon. Its brilliant light complemented his own silver hair and white attire. The night was quiet and peaceful; all seemed to be resting. Yet he had an unsettling feeling in the back of his mind. He had tried to ignore it, and had been successful. But his success was brought down when his Tensaiga had reacted to something. Even now it continued to pulse uneasily. It was giving warning, but Sesshoumaru knew that the threat was not towards him. He resumed his walk.

After a few minutes, the scent of toxins reached his sensitive nose. He paused and tried the air. Amidst the smell of poisons was the sweet scent of water lilies mixed with the charged smell of thunderstorms. He frowned as he recognized the person and again Tensaiga pulsed, only with more persistence. Then another smell reached him, the smell of a corpse. For an instant he thought it was the once-dead miko, but the air did not carry the putrid smell of dirt as well. Just the smell of a decaying body.

He turned back towards where he'd left Jaken and Rin, deciding to leave the miko to her own defences. This time Tensaiga pulsed yet again. He ignored the sword, but it pulsed with a clearer beat. Sesshoumaru turned annoyed eyes onto the sword.

"You want me to save the miko?" he asked it in an annoyed tone. The sword pulsed more gently in response. "Why?" Again the sword answered with a pulse. But its answer was not adequate enough. _She's saved you. She's taken you to her home, and she's helped you get back to your rightful place. She needs help, and your brother will not reach her in time. Plus…you _want_ to save her._

This time, Sesshoumaru, suddenly angry and uncomfortable, walked purposefully away from the direction from which the miko's scent came to him. He had taken no more than four steps when he was suddenly frozen in place. The sword pulsed almost madly at his hip. _Save her, you owe her at least that much._ **_I owe no one anything. _**_You owe her more than your life. **I have no obligations to help the woman.** She would help you. **I am not her.** You ought to help her.** I will not.** You have no other choice. You are bound here unless you go to her and save her. She is above others you have met; don't underestimate her because of your blindness to your heart._

Almost sighing with exasperation, Sesshoumaru turned towards the girl's general direction and found that he could. The closer he got, the stronger the scent of the poisons became. He soon reached a small clearing with a shabby hut in one corner of it. Curls of smoke and toxins rose from its walls and roof. It was through the straw door of this hut that the smell of the miko came the strongest. He hesitated at the door, allowing the calming scent to override his senses with its strange power.

"Mukotsu?!" Kagome repeated, now fully panicking. "You're one of the Schininchitai!"

"You know of me?" Mukotsu asked. Again he caressed her cheek with a dead hand. "My, what a beautiful and smart bride I've found."

_Don't give up! Not yet, you haven't survived this long to fall at this guy's hands! Help will come…right?_ Pushing the doubt out of her mind, Kagome tried her best to concentrate on surviving. She knew that the guy was practically a zombie, its life force the Shikon shard. _Take that out, and you're good to go._ The only problem was that she was still paralysed, perhaps not as much as before. She could move her fingers and even her whole hand if she concentrated hard enough.

She looked around the smoky hut, her eyes falling onto the fire creator. Against some old logs, just outside of the roaring fire, were two sharp needle like rods. They were her only hope of saving herself.

Just as she began to reach out, the two hands left her face to encircle her waist. She was lifted to her knees and her body was leaned against that of her enemy. She struggled hard not to let a desperate sob escape her lips. "Would you like to start the ceremony now, koi?" he whispered into her ear, making her shiver with pure fear.

Slowly bending in his grasp, Kagome reached for the twin rods. With a speed she thought she could not muster in her condition, she plunged them into her capture's throat, clasping them over the Shikon shard in his neck.

His eyes bulged even more, if that were possible. Breathing heavily, Kagome allowed herself a moment to catch her breath. That was her mistake. Quickly overcoming his shock, he pushed away her hands, shoving her ruthlessly to the ground. "You frigid BITCH!" he yelled with contempt. "You're just like the others, hating me for my face!"

"What are you talking about?" Kagome gasped, not bothering to get off the ground. "That was not the problem!"

"I'm going to kill you for that!" With that said, he lunged towards her, surprising her before she could get away. He shut his thick hands around her neck, choking the little breath she had left out of her body.

Once again, her world swayed dangerously, and her vision grew black. Just before she lost consciousness, she saw a flash of poisonous green. Then she fell limp as she gave into the black haze growing within her mind.

Without warning, the scent of her fear nearly tripled. He knew she was being attacked. The sword pulsed widely, repeatedly, urging him on. Finally, he ripped open the straw door and stepped into the toxin filled room.

A short, plump, would-be-dead man sat crouching before the miko. He was choking her, a pair of iron rods sticking out of his neck. The miko looked as though she was already dead or at least very close to it. Even though her very life was being chocked out of her, she did not struggle, and Sesshoumaru found that to be very odd. Normally, she would be meddlesome, and do her best to ruin your plan even though you might not have any intentions of killing her at the beginning. To find her so submissive was impossible, and Sesshoumaru knew she had been poisoned or drugged to keep her from moving. _I should have tried that a long time ago_, he thought sardonically.

He heard her choked cry, and his eyes rested on her half closed eyes, the very emblem of warmth and purity. They were glazed over as though she was close to unconsciousness. He made his move just as her eyes drooped shut.

His claws cut through the zombie like knife through warm butter. He immediately released his hold over the miko's neck as he slumped forward. Sesshoumaru kicked aside his limp form and crouched down beside the miko. He could see the beginnings of many bruises forming along her long and slender neck. He pushed aside dark strands of tousled hair from her face. His hand froze across one cheek. He tested the air tentatively with his nose. The plump man was still alive, or at least as alive as he could be.

Confidently, he rose to his feet, his cold eyes burning through the man desperately trying to get to his stocky feet. Mukotsu, almost trembling, dashed out of the room, not waiting to see whether the demon followed.

Outside of the miserable hut, he dashed to a small bush and was about to pull something out from its shadows when the cool voice of the demon cut through the air.

"You should have died when I put my hands through your disgusting body," he said unpleasantly. "Now I'll just have to kill you using my whip."

"Wait," Mukotsu protested in a pleading voice. He crouched in a feeble position with his back to the demon. "I didn't know the bitch was of interest to a demon. Please excuse my mistake, your greatness."

Sesshoumaru looked down at him coldly and without mercy. He could not explain why his blood was boiling so purposefully, but he knew that he would be calm again once this man was dead. Just then, the dead man swirled around on his feet, pulling out at the same time a large tube about the same size as himself. He aimed it at Sesshoumaru, letting out a cold and victorious laugh.

"Neither human nor demon is a match for this poison." With that said, blasts of thick and murky clouds of poison shot towards Sesshoumaru, covering the small opening in an ominous cloud.

Mukotsu stood triumphantly where he had been, laughing gleefully. He promptly walked towards his hut to get back to the girl and resumed what he had been trying to do before he had been interrupted.

Before he had time to acknowledge that which was happening, he was returned back into a skeleton as a striped hand swiftly pulled out the rods that were still in his throat, taking the jewel shard with them.

Sesshoumaru stood over the now truly dead man with hard eyes. "To think that you actually thought that this Sesshoumaru can be succumbed by the poisons of a mere human!"

When Kagome next opened her eyes, it took her a while to remember where she was. Her lungs burned with every breath that she took, and her body still refused to follow her will. She lay helplessly limp on the wooden floor, looking around for any sign of the Schininchitai member. She sighed with relief upon finding no proof of his presence.

The screen door to the hut had been flung off and lay in a heap at the entrance. Through the open gap of it, she could just see out of the hut. What she saw however, surprised her to such a degree that she thought she were hallucinating.

It was at exactly that precise moment that the demon clad in white from head to toe minus his black armour, fluidly pulled out the two rods that Kagome, herself, had thrust into the neck of the Schininchitai member. Her eyes widened impossibly when she heard his emotionless voice and could no longer announce her eyes unreliable.

She watched as Sesshoumaru looked distastefully at the heap of human bones at his feet. She watched as his cold eyes slowly turned towards the hut and to herself, still motionlessly lying on the ground. His feet brought him back inside the hut even though his eyes screamed his displeasure of being near a human such as her. But he still crouched down beside her, his golden eyes ablaze with an inner fire that seemed to reach out and scorch Kagome even from where she lay. Patiently, she awaited her death.

Then she realized that it was not hatred that she saw within the demon lords eyes, more like confusion and resentment. She opened her mouth to say something, but the gulp of air that she accidentally took in sent her into a coughing fit. Her vision wavered just as a single hand touched her forehead. Tantalizing warmth spread through her body from his touch, and her lungs stopped their assault. Her eyes drooped sleepily.

"My dept has been repaid; you no longer can haunt me and my thoughts now that we are even." His emotionless voice lulled her to sleep. She was unsure as to whether she had merely imagined the last part of what he had said, or if he had actually voiced those strange and haunting words.


	10. The Help of a Miko

I DON'T OWN INUYASHA

****

**The Help of a Miko**

He changed his position against the old tree with barely contained annoyance. Turning his gaze to the full moon overhead, he allowed his mind to drift away from the miko. It was very annoying how she determinedly remained in his mind. He could no longer, despite all his efforts, deem her as an enemy, and this irked him to no end.

There was just something about the miko that he had never been able to ignore, but he could not fathom what it might be. Only recently had he recognized its existence; he had originally thought that it was his determination to kill her that kept her in his mind. But somehow, he could no longer think in such a manner. He had never taken such a grudge against any living being, except maybe his brother, to be constantly plotting a ploy in which he could take his revenge. He had never spent so many hours thinking on one person whether it was out of kinship or hatred. So why could he not stop thinking about her?

And then there was the matter of his straying mind, and that worried him the most. Sometimes, he would catch his mind drifting to thoughts of how her body would feel against his, and exactly how those lips of hers would taste were he to take them against his own mouth. It was these thoughts that disturbed Sesshoumaru the most. The little voice inside his head kept labelling his thoughts as that of physical attraction for the human girl. But, of course, Sesshoumaru dismissed the notion without hesitation. There was no way that he, the great lord of the Western Lands, should feel attracted to a _human miko_.

Yet, no matter what, he continued to think of her sans stop.

He heard the snap of a twig, and turned curious eyes towards the direction of the disturbance. He had been so lost in his own thoughts that he had missed the Taiyoukai of the Southern lands and his troop gathering around him. He cursed the miko and the distraction that she brought to his mind as he gracefully rose to his feet. The youkai lord across him gave a mockingly polite bow while withdrawing his sword, his troop following his lead. The sound of metal swords scraping across the smooth surfaces of their sheaths resounded in the forest, driving away all the animals and lower youkai in the vicinity.

Sesshoumaru allowed a cold smirk to grace his lips, readying himself against the odds of coming out of this cowardly act alive.

Without a second of hesitation, the two Taiyoukai leaped towards each other, hence commencing a bloody battle of one against over seventy youkai.

Kagome looked ahead curiously. Just in the centre of the town, a relatively large one for the war and states era, what seemed to be the whole town and a few extra people were gathered in a circle. There was an excited hush lolling the air. They hurried their steps to see what was going on.

"Look at the stupid thing," someone yelled from the crowd.

"It probably doesn't know what's happening to it, the dumb git," another voice called out from the opposite end of the circle.

By now, Kagome and her friends had reached the outer ring of the circle. Inuyasha seemed uneasy and had an uncertain look on his face. His eyes were darting around the town and the gathered people as his nose tested the air. In her arms, Shippo seemed uneasy as well, and Kirara jumped into Sango's arms where it tried to hide itself.

Kagome reached out and tapped a nearby woman on the shoulder. She turned around to look at her with a look of impatience on her young face.

"What do you want?" she barked out.

Clearing her throat and ignoring the woman's rudeness. "Sorry, I was just wondering what's going on. Do you think you could tell me?"

"We've caught a full demon and our miko's about to pure the devil."

"Oh," Kagome said, "thank you."

Without a reply, the woman turned on her heels, craning her neck to get a better look. Kagome turned back to look at her friends. Inuyasha was still looking around anxiously, heedless of what the woman had said. "What's wrong Inuyasha?"

Finally, Inuyasha turned his head to look at Kagome, his amber eyes alight with apprehension. "Sesshoumaru," was his curt answer.

Kagome frowned at him. "What about him?"

"He's close by, or at least someone who smells a lot like him." Again his eyes darted around the crowd of people. "But I can't spot him. And if I can smell him, then he can smell us too. If he has, then why isn't he here?"

Kagome nodded at him, her curiosity arisen. She, too, looked around the crowd, trying to catch a glimpse of the demon lord. But it was futile. Despite the fact that she was taller than most women from this time, she was still too far back and there were too many people for her to see properly. "I'm gonna go to the centre," she told her friends. "I can see better from there."

She handed Shippo to Sango who, as Kagome turned to leave, said, "Be careful, Kagome-chan."

"Don't worry, Sango-san, I'll be fine." With a wave of her hand, Kagome pushed into the crowd where she disappeared from view. She pushed against the people, every once in a while one of them would cuss at her, but she ignored them, all the while looking for Sesshoumaru. _But what the hell would **he **be doing in a crowd of humans? _She still hadn't had a chance to thank him for saving her life, and she was determined to do so whether the demon wanted acknowledgement for his deed or not.

She made her way to the very centre of the crowd. They had circled around the captured demon and five mikos at the very center of the town. She looked around the inner circle of people. Her eyes caught white cloth, and she turned with excitement to the person. But to her disappointment it was another villager.

She turned her eyes to the five mikos. They were all dressed alike: white shirts, red pants, and long black hairs tied back with a white ribbon. The five of them stood across from each other, three on one side and two on the other side of the captured demon. It was then, as she looked at the demon for the first time, that she realized where Inuyasha's brother was. Her eyes widened to their full extent as his hate filled eyes bore into her.

His heart was beating rapidly against his ribs, his nose desperately trying to concentrate only on her relaxing scent. He had enough sense left to mask his eyes with a look of hatred, which was easy to do if he thought about the humans around him. But he watched her, carefully, looking for her reaction. She stared at him with wide-eyed surprise, her soft lips slightly apart in a gasp. Again, she was wearing yet another one of her odd kimonos. Almost without his control, his eyes ran up her body, from her exposed legs to her shocked face. Even though he had not seen her in a fairy long time, her image within his mind had been exactly correct.

Finally blinking out of her stupor, the miko turned to one of the villagers beside her. "How did you capture the demon?" she whispered in a voice that did not reach the other mikos.

Her neighbour looked at her quizzically, then reluctantly said, "He had been injured and unconscious when the mikos found him." The miko from the future frowned at this. "Ozona-sama had to put very strong subduing spells on him to keep him under control."

"Under what crime was he captured?"

The villager threw her a disparaging look as though she was crazy. "He's a demon, that's reason enough!"

The miko turned away from him angrily, locking eyes with Sesshoumaru once more. He found his blood rushing excitedly through his body at the determined look in her eyes.

"Good villagers," one of the mikos announced to the crowd of people. "We are gathered here today to bring justice to this lowly excuse of a living creature."

Sesshoumaru growled angrily, and to his surprise he could just hear the miko across from him do the same.

"Today," said another miko with a satisfied smirk, "we shall purify _it_ as an example to all others who dare oppose us."

"Let's begin," said a third miko. At her words, the five mikos formed a perfect circle around Sesshoumaru, linking their hands together. He knew was his last chance to try and save himself, but he was made powerless with the spells that bound. He felt his hatred grow for the humans for what they were planning to do to him in their cowardly manner. They began a slow chant, one that made the hair that was on the back of Sesshoumaru's neck to stand on end.

"STOP!"

Sesshoumaru looked at her with confusion; and so did every one else.  She stepped forward hesitantly, the people eyeing her clothes with suspicion.

"Why should we do that?" asked one of the mikos; they had let go of each others hands and had their neck's craned so they could glare at her.

The miko coughed nervously, and Sesshoumaru could have sworn he heard the echo of 'sit' in her cough. As if to confirm his belief, there was an audible crashing sound from the back of the crowd, not loud enough to be heard by the humans. But Sesshoumaru heard it and the cussing that followed it.

"Um…yes, I would like to know why we're purifying this demon. From what I've heard, he hasn't specifically done anything that you are punishing him for." Her voice sounded unsure and hesitant, but her eyes were resolute.

_Is she trying to save my life_? Sesshoumaru thought with incredulity. His eyes widened as she stepped even closer to the mikos so that she was face to face with the nearest of the five mikos. She was almost a head taller than the miko who had to look up in order to look her in the eye.

One of the mikos snorted and looked at the miko-girl with disdain. "Well, dear, we have a reason. I should have thought that would have been obvious enough." She spoke as though she were speaking to a child.

The miko, Kagome, glanced down at the ground then looked up with such a hard countenance that it took everyone who could see her face by surprise. She had the same exact look that Sesshoumaru had seen turned towards him just before she ruined another one of his plans. A small smirk reached his lips.

"Oh," she said with mock surprise. "Is that so? Well you'd have to excuse me, but I still can't see your reasoning. At least now I _know_ you're not merely purifying him _just because he's a demon_. Only heartless bastards would do that, and _you_, obviously, are the countenance of purity, love, and forgiveness."

The oldest of the five had to be the angriest one among them. Her face was red, her lips pursed, her eyes burning. Seeing this seemed to only make the young miko smile. "Mind your tongue, girl. We are mikos, your superior."

She crossed her arms abstinently. "Firstly, I, too, am a miko. You are no better than me than you are taller than me! Secondly, I make it my business to be as rude as possible to idiots that are as arrogant and blind sighted as you! And third of all, you are mikos, supposedly. You're supposed to help _all_ creatures of god. You're not supposed to discriminate against some because of what they were born as. You should be smart enough to judge people based on their doings, not their heritage. I for one, refuse to allow you to continue when you fail to provide evidence of his wrong doing!" Her words reached his ears, giving him the sense that she her words were not only directed towards the mikos.

The mikos were looking at her sceptically. They moved from their former positions around Sesshoumaru, and stood beside each other to discuss the matter at hand. While they spoke, the other miko turned her steely gaze back to Sesshoumaru. Immediately, her eyes filled with warmth and gratitude. Sesshoumaru refused to allow any of his emotions to show. She hesitantly walked up to him so that she was within arms length of him. He could have reached out and killed her from where she stood were his hands not tied back. He only silently thanked her for pushing aside the stench of the other humans.

"Keep your distance, girl!" one of the mikos warned.

The miko before him rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to free him; not until we have reached an agreement." The other miko turned back to her group.

Sesshoumaru watched as the girl who had been haunting him for weeks bent down to whisper a soft thank you in his ears. His skin tingled where her warm breath made contact with his skin. "For what, Miko?"

She looked at him with slight surprise, then smiled her beautiful smile just at him, making his heart beat ten times as fast as it normally did. "For saving my life from Mukotsu," she whispered again. Sesshoumaru was glad that the ropes and spells that bound him were there for they were the only thing that kept him in check.

"I was merely returning a favour. This Sesshoumaru does not like being in dept to a _miko_." His voice was hard and emotionless as usual.

She looked at him sadly for a moment, but smiled again. "Nevertheless, _I _would like to thank _you_, dept or no dept." She looked at him quizzically then. "But why do you always call me 'miko'? I have a name, you know. I use yours, why don't you use mine?"

He raised one eyebrow at her, his face still blank even as he fought to keep his lips off her very close face. "This Sesshoumaru do--,"

He was cut off by the voice of one of the five mikos. "Girl," she called, making the miko – Kagome – to rise to her feet, relieving Sesshoumaru from the task of holding back. "Do you know the demon then?"

She opened her mouth to answer, and her answer thoroughly shocked Sesshoumaru. "No."

The mikos exchanged furtive glances with each other. "You claim to be a miko," the eldest one said. "Can you prove that?"

"How would you like me to do that?"

Again, they exchanged glances. "Allow us to hear your tune."

Kagome's face faulted. "My tune?" she repeated. "Um…what's that?"

The mikos broke into triumphant smiles in unison, giving Sesshoumaru an ominous feeling as he looked on. "If you can't play your tune, then you are not a miko, which proves you're a liar!"

"Don't be daft," Kagome argued back. "I said I don't know what it is, I never said I can't do it. I was never trained as a miko. That doesn't mean I can't learn. Show me what to do, and I'll do it!"

The self-satisfied smirks were wiped from their faces.  One of the mikos, the one with the longest hair, stepped forward, traced her name in the air, then blew on the glittering letters. The town was filled with the sound of a slow tune, ancient and sorrowful. When it ended, there was a loll.

"Kagome!" came Inuyasha's voice from the end of the crowd.

Kagome swallowed dryly. Without glancing towards where the sound came from, through a series of coughs she 'sat' Inuyasha again. Luckily for her, few people had even heard him since they were all so wrapped up in what was going on between the six mikos.

She looked resolutely at the mikos before her. She could see in their faces their certainty that she would fail. _What was I thinking when I got involved in this? It would have been better just to let him be killed; I'd only be getting rid of another enemy.** But he's not an enemy anymore. **But it's not like I'm helping him, am I?** But you're trying, just as you would if it was Inuyasha who was tied up here. **But I don't even think I could do that song thing.** Just try it, it won't hurt to try.**_ She swallowed again, and this time coughed for real as she choked on her spit. She raised shaking hands to the air.

He watched as her trembling hands trace her name in the air in graceful arcs. K-A-G-O-M-E. He could almost taste her nervousness. The letters remained in the air, glittering a beautiful blue. She blew on them and that's when the song started.

It wasn't a slow, sorrowful tune. It did not even have a Japanese ring to it. Had he not visited the West, he would have never guessed the song's origins. Only it was different from the minstrel's tune from the lands of the Scottish. It had a beat to it that made Sesshoumaru think of her time.

The song had a quiet joy laced in and through it. Its enchanting melody almost made Sesshoumaru forget his situation, the insults that had been thrown his way by these arrogant humans.

It was only after the song had ended that Sesshoumaru realized something incredible. He turned unbelieving eyes onto her, but she had her eyes closed in a peaceful manner.

It soon turned out that he wasn't the only one that had noticed what the miko had just done for him.

"Miko," came the incredulous voice of the eldest miko. "You've returned the demon's arm!"

For five complete minutes, Kagome stared at the miko dumbfounded. Then, in a haze, she turned to look at the demon in question. There he sat, in the same position as before, his golden eyes, slightly wider than before with shock, locked onto his left arm. Only now, instead of just cloth after his elbow, there was also skin, bone, and muscles. There were even two crimson stripes around his wrist just as Kagome could remember. Kagome felt her jaw drop as she watched him flex his fingers.

As though taking their cue from his smallest movement, the five mikos jumped into action. Immediately they had chanted ten more subduing spells to keep him in check despite his angry growls. Then, in one, they turned accusing glares onto Kagome.

"You dare side with the demon?"

Rubbing her neck nervously, Kagome answered them. "Well, technically, I am on his side because I want you to free him. But I didn't give back his arm purposefully, I swear. I have very little control over my powers since I was never trained. It just must have happened on its own."

The other mikos looked among themselves sceptically. "I suppose that's possible," the miko with the longest hair said.

"And you have to be a miko to be able to perform the miko's tune," another one added in.

"Well," said the eldest of the five. "Perhaps, now you'll tell us why you think the demon should be freed. He's a demon and all demons are evil. They don't deserve your mercy."

Kagome frowned at her. "But that's not true. That's a simple minded assumption made based upon lack of knowledge."

"It is not an assumption, child," the old miko said. "It's a truth."

"It _is_ an assumption," Kagome argued back. The crowd gathered looked at her sternly for keeping them from the purification.

"You know of the hanyou Naraku?" Kagome nodded. "He's only part demon, and he's positively evil. There's no arguing that."

"But you're using a bad example," Kagome said. She pointed to a basket of fruit that one of the villagers carried. "See those apples in there. Some of them might be rotten. Is that true or not?" the mikos nodded along with a few of the villagers. "Following your logic, I should be able to say, look, some of those apples are rotten. So all of the other apples must be bad too! But they're not, are they?" she asked rhetorically.

The old miko shook her head in disagreement. "Child, you're being blind. He's a demon; it's in their nature to be evil."

Kagome sighed, trying to keep her patience. "I'm not the one being blind. It's in nature's nature to rain, right? Well, do you see it raining every day? No. Each apple is different from the next apple, each day from the next, each person from the next, and each _demon_ from the next. It makes no difference. Every creature is its own thing. If you judge them without knowing them, then you are being narrow-minded."

Again, the mikos exchanged glances. "Can you prove that this one isn't evil?"

Kagome hesitated, and the mikos smiled triumphantly. "If you can prove his innocence, we will free your demon," said the miko with the longest hair.

This caught Kagome's attention and she smiled hesitantly. She looked at Sesshoumaru, not sure how to get him to play along. He was still staring at his forearm. "And if I can't?"

"Then it is only fair that he should be purified without anymore hindrance."

His ears twitched as he heard footsteps approaching him. Slowly, he lifted his eyes from his new arm, focusing on the slowly approaching miko. He wanted to thank her, he wanted to hold her close, he wanted to run his new hand through the waves of her hair, and he wanted to kiss her. But he was incapable of doing any of it. He sat rigidly in place as she bent down before him, bringing her nervous face closer to his.

"Can I ask you your name, Sir?"

He looked at her with a hidden curiosity. _What game is she playing now?_ "Sesshoumaru."

She smiled prettily, making his stomach flutter. "Sesshoumaru-sama, have you ever heard of the Shikon no Tama?" The crowd of humans and mikos looked on with rising curiosity.

His eyes almost ran down to her chest where he knew a few pieces of the jewel hung. He knew that his best chance of escape was through her since he was powerless with all the subduing spells that bound him. The problem was he didn't know what she wanted him to say. Taking a chance, he said, "It's the jewel of the four souls. It can grant demons and humans incredible power. It was recently shattered into many pieces."

"Good," she said just loud enough so that the mikos could hear her. "Now, do you know who I am?" she asked with a slight shake of her head.

_You don't know how much I actually want to know…_ he thought sardonically. Taking his cue from her, he said, "A miko?"

The miko straightened. "Yes. I'm the miko responsible for the Shikon no Tama." Her voice was clear and held no doubt. As she said this, she reached into the collar of her shirt and pulled out the pieces that she had collected. There was a collective gasp from the humans. "You all know," she said looking at the mikos, "just how powerful this jewel is. With one shard of it, Sesshoumaru's power could be raised to such a high level that you will no longer be a match for him."

She turned back to him while drawing out a jewel shard. Reaching out, she placed the shard carefully in his left palm but did not let go. Again there was a disturbance from the back of the crowd; and again she coughed to subdue his brother. The mikos looked on in horror.

Looking at him with pleading eyes, Kagome continued. "Sesshoumaru-sama," her voice was soft and unsure. "Please don't take advantage of what I'm offering you and prove me wrong. I understand that you are very annoyed and angry at us humans for insulting you, and threatening your life. But please, please, don't absorb the jewel shard to take your rightful revenge. Show them you're better than that."

She lifted her hand, and the mikos made a mad dash towards him to snatch away the jewel shard. But the miko held them back with her icy glare. "You little fool!" screeched the old miko. With the help of three other mikos, she dragged her away from Sesshoumaru, throwing her hard against the ground. They raised their hands, as though about to cast a spell, and the crowd chanted with glee.

But the miko seemed unaware of all this. She had her eyes glued on to him, waiting to see his reaction. Not wanting to disappoint her, Sesshoumaru made his move.

"Old hags," came the deadly calm voice of Sesshoumaru, the demon lord of the Western Lands. Every one froze at the promise of death that rang in his voice. "You harm that miko, then I shall most definitely rip your sorry heads from your foul bodies."

Kagome smiled. He had done just what she had wanted him to do. The jewel shard sat in the palm of his hand, gleaming innocently in the orange light of the setting sun. His cold eyes would have made her freeze in her spot if the vehemence in them had been directed towards her.

The mikos looked from him to her in disbelief. Their eyes were almost round they were so wide. "I told you he wasn't evil," Kagome said happily from her place on the ground. "Now you have to let him go!"

Sesshoumaru kept completely still, his eyes full of hatred but without the intention of bringing harm to them. He seemed to be waiting for the mikos to lift the spells from him. Looking guilty and seriously close to fainting, the mikos lifted the enchantments.

The demon lord rose gracefully, completely ignoring all the humans carefully backing away. He walked straight towards her. "It seems I will always be in your dept, miko," he's voice was void of emotion, as though he was bored with the whole situation.

Rising to her feet hesitantly, Kagome bowed to him. "I was merely returning a favour for your saving my life. You're not indebted to me at all."

He seemed to be fighting a smirk and only half succeeded. "You, miko, are as stubborn a human as this Sesshoumaru has seen." He handed back the jewel shard.

She took it from his hand, feeling very confused by the lords acceptance of her. Then what he said sank in and she looked at him inquisitively. "Why do you still call me 'miko'? I've already asked you to call me by my name. It's Kagome."

There was no trace of a smirk on his face now. "Because, miko, despite all, you and I remain enemies." With that said, he turned and walked away.

"But Sesshoumaru-sama," Kagome whispered under her breath, watching his retreating back. "I don't feel the same."


	11. Foolish Words

I DON'T OWN INUYASHA

****

**Foolish Words******

****

La vie est un sommeil

L'amour en est le rêve.

Et vous auriez vécu

Si vous aviez aim !

It tortured him for weeks, her whispered words that followed his retreating back. _I don't feel the same._ The cursed words ran through his mind over and over and over again, each time making him ask the same question. _Then how do you feel?_ Yet there was no one to answer him, and no one to help him push aside his anguished thoughts. All he had to rely on was a song, a tune. A tune that had captured his heart even as it was playing itself out for the first time. But this one tune was enough to set his soul at rest, and he grabbed onto the comfort it offered greedily.

_I don't feel the same…then how do you feel?_

_What if he'd stayed a little longer? What then?_ She thought for what had to be the thousandth time. _Would I have told him I wanted to be his friend? Had he heard me? Demons have good hearing, it's quiet possible that he did. Why don't I think before I speak?_

"Kagome," Shippo wailed. "I'm hungry!"

Kagome turned and looked at him. He was staring at her with round, puppy eyes, begging for a rest and some food. She smiled at him and patted his head lovingly. "Inuyasha," she called to the hanyou. "We should take a rest now; Shippo's hungry, and I know at least I'm tired."

Inuyasha turned on his heels and glared at her, which she quite skilfully returned. "But we've only been searching for half a day!"

"My point exactly," Kagome said. "Traipsing around uneven ground in Medieval Japan for half a day without a break is quite a hard thing to do. Plus, I don't sense any jewel shards around. We rest here."

There was such finality in her voice that Inuyasha argued no more. He 'feh'ed and jumped up to a tree branch. Half frowning, half smiling, Kagome parked her bike against an old and withered tree. She set about making their lunch, porgies, with Shippo hovering over her shoulder eagerly. After having fed Shippo and the rest of the shard hunter's group including Inuyasha, Kagome sank down against the bark of an old willow tree, its thin, leafed branches swaying lazily in the light breeze. She allowed her eyes to close and dozed off.

**_In this faithful hour_**

…purple stripes mirrored across his cheeks…

**_All heaven with its power_**

…a blue crescent marking his smooth forehead…

**_And the sun with its brightness_**

…golden eyes pierced her soul with their wistful glance…

**_And the snow with its whiteness_**

…silver hair danced in the wind…

**_And the fire with all the strength it hath_**

...a fleeting image of a sudden unbidden flare of his anger…

**_And the lightning with its rapid wrath_**

…a deathly sweep of his sword…

**_And the winds with their swiftness along their path_**

…a blur of white as the demon flew past…

**_And the sea with its deepness_**

…unbidden emotions swimming in the very deep recesses of his eyes…

**_And the rocks with their steepness_**

…understand this; I am not always that which I seem…

**_And the Earth with its starkness_**

…life is a sleep…

**_All these I place_**

…in which love is its dream…

**_By God's almighty help and grace_**

…and you have truly lived…

**_Between myself and the power of darkness_**

…only when you have loved!

Her eyes snapped open as Inuyasha shook her awake. "Come on, you've had enough rest! Let's go!"

Kagome ignored the odd sensation in her body, the same one she had every time she had used a lot of her power. She looked at her watch and realized that she had been lying there against the tree for at least a good hour. She stood up and stretched, smiling at the eager hanyou.

"Kagome-chan," Sango asked once they were moving again. "Can I ask you a question?"

She was looking at the ground beneath her feat carefully, purposefully avoiding Kagome's eyes. "What is it, Sango?" she asked reproachfully.

Sango shot her a tentative look, but quickly turned away as soon as she caught her eyes. "Well, you see," she started hesitantly. "I've been wondering for a while now…"

"Sango, will you stop beating around the bush and tell me once and for all what is the matter?" Kagome asked, losing her patience.

"It's just that, I couldn't help but notice how you and Inuyasha's brother…well…"

"What about me and Sesshoumaru?" she asked, now genuinely interested.

Sango shot Miroku a glance, as though asking for his help. To Kagome's surprise, he did just that. "What Sango-san means to say, Kagome-sama, is that it is interesting how the two of you keep saving each other even though you are enemies."

There was a deep silence following Miroku's words. Kagome could even see Inuyasha's ears pointed towards them, waiting eagerly for her response. "Yeah, I guess it is sorta interesting."

It seemed as though they wanted a more precise response, because after a while Miroku asked, "Why is that, Kagome-sama?"

"Why is what?" she asked, knowing full well what was meant.

"Why is it that the two of you seem to be in the same league?" Inuyasha answered, no longer able to pretend that he wasn't listening in on their conversation.

"I don't know," Kagome shrugged. "I helped him against the mikos simply because I owed him my life. But I have no idea why he saved me from Mukotsu. That, you'd have to ask him."

"You can't not tell me," Inuyasha said in an incredulous voice. "I've been patient for far too long. I didn't say a thing for a whole week even though you sat me at least four times in the village for his sake. I have a right to know what's between you and my brother!"

Kagome looked at him angrily. "That's where you're wrong Inuyasha. Even if there was something going on between us, it would be none of your business unless one of us decides it is. And I've already told you what I can. I'm not psychic to know what he was thinking. Now, once and for all, LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Her voice echoed through the forest, making surprised birds take flight. She stormed away from them, with only Shippo perched on her shoulder. She was so mad she could have wrung Inuyasha's neck right then and there. She stopped abruptly in a small clearing, then turned furious eyes onto her silently following companions.

"I'm tired," she announced. "It's enough shard haunting for today. We camp here."

Inuyasha opened his mouth as though about to argue but was 'sat' before he could even make the smallest noise. Kagome threw open her bag, brought out her bathing stuff, and headed towards the direction from which she could hear the sound of running water.

She walked for five minutes straight, often having to change directions where the trees were too dense to get through unscathed and lost. _What the hell came over me back there?_ She asked herself with the start of guilt. _I had no right to snap at them like that. And poor Inuyasha, I feel just as angry as him every time he saves Kikyou. And Shippo, I hope I didn't scare him. Oh, I'm absolutely despicable!_ She kicked at a rock that was in her way, it bouncing off the bark of a tree. Finally, she pushed past the curtain of trees to step in front of a tall and thin waterfall.

Kagome looked on with wonder as her eyes drank in one of the most beautiful sights she had come across of in all of her travels across Medieval Japan. Crystal clear water cascaded down the side of a hill in variously sized steps, ending in a shallow semi-lake that reached up to Kagome's shoulders had she been standing within it. Each step in the waterfall seemed to grow larger so that the highest one was about twice Kagome's height and the lowest step was just longer then the span of her hand. Boulders climbed steadily along the face of the cliff, each covered with different coloured vegetations. Small trees, maple, aspen, and many more grew around the rocks with maroon and green leaves. Then the water gracefully continued to flow away from the small lake through a narrow stream along the tree wall Kagome had stepped through.

Without wasting another second, Kagome changed into her bathing suit and dove into the fresh water warmed by the summer sun. She delighted in the feel of the water and even swam around the lake a few times. She swam back to shore and picked up her shampoo and soup. She looked at the waterfall with a scrutinizing look. Then, with a slight shrug of her shoulders, she made her way towards it. Careful not to slide on the slippery rocks of the steps, she climbed up the waterfall. There, underneath the pressure of the falling water, on the highest step, Kagome washed herself, allowing the water to push aside her worries.

"Why are you always wherever I go?" Kagome was so surprised that she jumped back from his voice, mindless of where she was standing. She stopped just at the tip of the footing, but she had lost her balance. She turned her arms frantically in the air, but she felt herself tipping backwards. At the last possible second, a clawed hand reached through the curtain of water and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back under the crashing water.

Kagome looked at the hand that held her wrist most suspiciously. She recognized the design on the white sleeves, and there was only one person – youkai – that she knew of who had stripes on their wrist. She looked into the emotionless eyes of Sesshoumaru with evident alarm as he stood at the mouth of a hidden cavern. Kagome snatched back her wrist as fast as she could.

He smirked at her and simply repeated his earlier remark.

"I-I was j-just…" she paused to take in a breath, willing her wildly beating heart to calm a little. She cleared her throat and hoped her voice wouldn't crack. "I was just taking a – hey, wait a minute," she suddenly said, her mind catching up with her. "I have just as much of a right to be here as you do. So I could be asking you the same thing! I don't see why I have to explain myself to _you_!"

A small frown creased his brows, and Kagome wondered whether she had gone too far. The frown was quickly brushed away from his face. "Where, pray you tell, are your clothes, Miko?" his cool voice cut across the sound of the water.

Kagome's face faulted. She followed his scrutinizing glare down at her barely covered body, and couldn't fight the blush that burned her face. She tried her best to shrink into herself, her hands rushing up too late to cover her exposed body. "I-I, you see, it's…um…like this. I was taking a shower…of a sort…and I couldn't very well d-do that w-w-with my clothes. I…uh…oh hell!" she exclaimed with frustration. "It doesn't matter. And never you mind, because it's none of your business!"

In a flash, Kagome found herself hanging by her neck over the ledge of the waterfall. She looked down his extended arm that was wrapped uncomfortably around her throat, and swallowed dryly. "I shall decide that which is my concern, not a human! Do you understand?"

Despite the warning signs that were going off in her mind, Kagome answered with disdain. "And _I_ shall decide that which should concern others about me!"

"Watch your tongue, little Miko," he warned at the same time giving Kagome's neck a hard squeeze. "I have been lenient with you thus far; but do not be so stupid as to presume that I would allow you to insult this Sesshoumaru."

"Then WHAT am I supposed to do, huh?" Kagome asked suddenly with anguish and frustration. Immediately, Sesshoumaru's hold on her slackened at the tone of her voice and an unnamed emotion flashed behind his eyes for a fraction of a second. Kagome silently prayed that he wouldn't let go. "What am I supposed to do when you try to kill me one minute, then, God knows why, you save me the next? Why don't you tell me, and I'll do it!"

He stared at her for a long while, the strange emotion softening his features. He pulled her into the safety of the cavern and released her. Kagome looked past him to where the water continued to tumble downwards behind his figure. He sat down suddenly, his arms and legs both crossed. "I come to this cavern often," he said in his smooth voice, completely and effectively confusing Kagome even more.

"Huh?" she asked intelligently.

The demon allowed his lids to fall shut and turned his face towards the cascading waters. "It's calming here."

Kagome could have sworn her jaw was hitting the cave's floor. _Is **he** telling **me** why **he's** here?!_

"No human, as far as I know, knows about this place, nor any youkai." His voice was wistful to Kagome's great surprise. "It's quiet here."

Kagome took a long while to process this information. "Why are you telling me this?"

She could have sworn she saw him smile. He opened his eyes, but kept his face away from hers. "Do I need a reason?" he had one eyebrow raised.

Curiosity winning within her, Kagome inched closer to him so that she was standing across from him. She sat down before him and studied his features. "Why do you insist on us being enemies?" she asked, her voice barely passing her lips.

He remained stoically quiet for such a long time that Kagome assumed he wasn't going to answer. She let out a small sigh, and leaned back against the caves sturdy wall. "You can swim?"

His question caught her by surprise with its suddenness. She nodded dumbly until she realised he wasn't watching her. "Yes. Why?"

"Not many people, nor youkai for that matter, can," was his reply.

"Can you?" she thought she might as well ask to keep him talking. Why, she didn't know.

He smirked his arrogant smirk. "What do you think?" he finally turned to look at her, and she was surprised by the look in his eyes. They were almost sad with wistfulness. Wistfulness for what, she didn't know.

She found it hard to continue to look at those golden eyes, and this time she turned her head towards the waterfall. "I'd be pretty surprised if you couldn't, to tell you the truth."

She felt his eyes on her and tried her best to ignore them. "Dog demons are not fond of the water."

Kagome turned and looked at him with astonishment. "You mean to tell me that you can't swim?!"

"Is that so hard to believe?" was his curt reply.

Before Kagome could answer however, Sesshoumaru frowned suddenly. He started to smell the air, his nose slightly twitching. Then, to her amazement, he let out a sigh. "You better go; my half brother is approaching and I have no intentions of having him find this cave."

Kagome didn't even realize that she had gotten to her feet, only realizing it when the cool waters of the waterfall broke against her head and shoulders. She looked at the youkai lord who continued to look at her. She looked down shyly, not wanting to see his reaction when she asked her question again. "Why do we have to be enemies?"

"I rarely say anything foolish," his voice reached her ears as he stood and approached her. "But when I do, you are in no way obliged to memorise and believe them."

With that, she was pushed out of the cave gently enough so that she wouldn't tip over. She stood, dumbfounded for a good minute, and was about to go back in when she heard Inuyasha's voice from below her. She looked to where the cave would have been, and smiled at it, hoping he would see her smile. Then she turned around, and climbed carefully down the waterfall.

He stood behind the waterfall as she smiled in his direction, thinking on how stupid he was. His every muscle screamed for him to reach back out, grab her, bring her back inside the cave, and ravish her till he was satisfied. He kept still, clenching his fist that tingled from touching her flesh. _There used to be a time when all I wanted from her was for her to be dead_, he thought sarcastically to himself. He smiled mockingly at this dramatic change towards her.

He smiled as he watched her climb down the waterfall towards his foolish brother. _Though I am just as foolish as he_, he thought to himself. He inhaled deeply, taking in her scent that still lingered in the cave.

He sat back against the hard wall of the cave just as he remembered something that she had said a long time ago. '_I promise to do anything if you swear to me that you won't hurt my family.'_ He allowed a smirk to grace his face. _A promise to do anything that I may wish,_ he mused, his mind thinking of the possibilities. His only restrictions were the Tessaiga and/or bringing harm to her friends, none of which he was interested in. He was nearly sure of what he wanted from her, and he knew that she would indeed do it since her honour obliged her to do so. What he was not sure about was whether she would _want_ to do it. But he had a strong feeling that told him that Kagome would never want _that_. If she did, then there was a good chance that he would ask it of her. The problem was finding a way to get the information he needed before hand. Being the ever studious Lord, his mind was already racing to find the solution.

After only about a minute, his smirk played against his face again with a predatory gleam.


	12. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru

I DON'T OWN INUYASHA

Author's note: Wow, thanks for all the reviews, that was a hell of a lot of fun. Sorry guys for the formatting before, but it was my first time posting so I didn't know how to do it right. But thanks to Striking Falcon (my favourite author, that's right) that's all fixed now. I've reposted the earlier chapters with the right formatting and all, so my English teacher can go back and relax cause I did learn something in her class, contrary to popular belief.

Anyway (never write 'anyways' because there is no such word in the English language), enjoy and don't forget to review.

**Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru**

Inuyasha watched as Sango, once again, bashed Miroku across the head with her boomerang for touching her. He often wondered just why Miroku continued to irritate the Taijia even though he was quite familiar with the consequences. Kagome had often told him it was because the two like each other, only they were too slow to realize it themselves. He had to say, he quiet agreed with her analysis.

Shippo was riding in the small basket on the front of Kagome's two-wheeled contraption from the future as she peddled her way behind him. Shippo often liked to ride with Kagome, and Kagome was always willing to give the fox child a ride. It was clear to Inuyasha just how loving Kagome was, and he liked her all the more for that.

Kagome, herself, seemed to be daydreaming again. She seemed to be doing that far too often lately, her eyes taking a glazed look to them as her mind wondered. She never said what it was that she thought of, but Inuyasha could see that, whatever it was, it was confusing her greatly. He often had to catch her just before she drove her bike into a tree or just before toppling over. Every time this happened, she would look startled, and then she would laugh and apologize at the same time. If he had thought her confusing before, he should have been holding back his assessment for moments like these.

Neither he nor Kagome ever talked again of what had happened at the village with the five mikos. At first, Inuyasha had been furious with her for helping his enemy, and even Sango and Miroku seemed to agree with him on that. But as he thought more about it, he had to admit that Kagome had been right to save him. Had it not had been for Sesshoumaru Kagome would have been dead already, and there was no denying that. But that left one very huge question in Inuyasha's mind: why would Sesshoumaru, the renowned human hater, even consider saving Kagome's life? But something else about Sesshoumaru bothered Inuyasha, something that he had smelled when he had gone after Kagome at the waterfall. Something that made Inuyasha be very wary of his half-brother being near Kagome, especially when they were alone.

Nevertheless, somehow the five of them had managed to find four more jewel shards, drawing them closer and closer to the ultimate fight with Naraku. Inuyasha was both happy and nervous about that, and, to some level, so were the rest of them. They were all happy that the jewel would be completed soon and this whole masquerade would soon be over. But they were also rather frightened to 'face off with Naraku' as Kagome would say it. Inuyasha wasn't stupid; he knew the danger that Naraku posed, and was very wary of it, to say the least.

Suddenly, Inuyasha stopped in his tracks looking forward with growing suspicion. As soon as he recognized the scent coming their way he turned to warn the others. But Inuyasha had barely even turned around when he reached them since he was moving so fast. Moving as quickly as he could, he turned to face his brother, only to realise that Sesshoumaru was already past them and still going without any intentions of turning back around.

"What the…?" he murmured just loud enough to be heard.

"Was that who I think it was?" Kagome asked apprehensively.

Inuyasha, still looking down the path that Sesshoumaru had taken, nodded. He smelled the air with caution, trying to make sure he hadn't just imagined that. He frowned slightly as the smell of Sesshoumaru's excitement and slight tension reached his nose.

"Do you think he meant to do that?" Sango asked no-one in particular.

Miroku opened his mouth as thought to answer but was interrupted by Inuyasha before he could say anything.

"I'm going after him," he said curtly.

Shippo jumped onto Kagome's shoulder with an indignant sound as she abandoned her bike to run after Inuyasha. "Wait, Inuyasha," she called but he was already out of her field of vision.

"Kagome-sama," Miroku reached out and held Kagome back. "You can't follow him; he's going far too fast for a human to follow."

Kagome glared at him angrily. "I realise that! But how do you expect me to help him against Sesshoumaru when I'm not there? I can't just leave him alone."

Sango stepped forward slightly, allowing Kirara to jump out of her arms and transform. "Me and Kirara will go after him. You don't worry Kagome-chan, will bring him right back in no time at all!"

She jumped onto kirara's back and flew after Inuyasha a few feet above the trees. Kagome made a move as to follow, but was once again held back by Miroku. Sighing in exasperation, she sat down on the forest floor. Shippo moved to sit in her lap where he could take a short nap.

Plying absently with Shippo's hair and trying to calm her frayed nerves at the same time, Kagome allowed her lids to droop shut, ignoring Miroku who still stood looking after Sango's retreating form. She felt Shippo's breaths deepen as he fell asleep and she smiled gently. _I hope Inuyasha's okay,_ she thought to herself. She was very worried about her friend even though she felt that she shouldn't be feeling so. Sesshoumaru, though still very dangerous and hard to predict, had undergone many changes, many of which were brought about by the little girl that always travelled with him. She was still thoroughly perplexed by the demon lord, and she could not help but worry for Inuyasha.

She opened her eyes suddenly at the sound of rustling bushes. She looked around the small clearing. Miroku was no where to be seen, and Shippo seemed to be almost unconscious in her arms. She shook him with worry, but he didn't respond. Bringing her head closer to his chest, she listened carefully for a sign of his breathing. She sighed with relief as she saw his chest rise and fall in rhythm to his almost inaudible snores. She looked back up in question, still no sign of Miroku. Her bike lay innocently in the center. The forest had gone unnaturally quiet, so quiet that she could hear her own heart beating loudly in her ribcage.

Carefully, she lay Shippo down against the tree. She stood up, smoothing her knee-length skirt. She made a move to stand by her bike, but froze immediately as she heard the bushes rustling again.

"M-miroku," she said in a shaky voice. "I swear to god, if that's you, I'm gonna beat you up so bad you would wish you were never born!"

She thought she heard a slight chuckle coming from behind one of the bushes. She moved towards it, stopping when she spotted a pair of sandaled feet sticking out from under it that looked awfully like Miroku's. She gasped and quickly brought her hand up to muffle the sound.

She reached behind her to pull out an arrow and set it into place. "Whoever's there, come out slowly; I'm armed!" She was quite surprised that her voice sounded so sure.

Not even the sound of the wind rustling through the trees met her words. Once more the forest was deadly quiet. Swallowing hard, she inched closer to Miroku's feet. The arrow in her hands was quaking slightly with her arm. She had reached the shrub and she could feel the sweat gather on her skin as her fear rose.

As quickly as she could, Kagome reached down, grabbed Miroku's ankles, and pulled him away from the bush. She was pulling so hard that as soon as his body came free, she lost her balance and fell on her bottom with an "oomph". She lay on the forest floor, her eyes clamped shut, trying to hear any movement from the forest. All she could hear was the loud banging of her own heart that was beating somewhere near her throat.

After a few minutes of rigidly sitting, she creaked open an eye and looked around for any intruders. Miroku lay at her feet and Shippo continued to doze against the tree she had laid him against. Once she was sure, she looked over Miroku to see what was wrong with him. He was breathing normally, his chest rising and falling undisturbed. She reached behind his head to see if she could feel a bump. There was none.

Completely perturbed, she reached out with her miko powers and could not hold back a gasp. She could see Naraku's aura surrounding Miroku, the dark energy licking his body.

She looked up sharply as she heard a twig snap just behind her, but she already knew who stood there. She turned to confront her enemy, but was submerged into unconsciousness before she could even blink.

Sesshoumaru ran as fast as he could towards where he had left Rin. He had left the little girl in the care of Jacken while trying to carry out the first steps of his plan. He had been just about to show himself to the hanyou and his group when he had suddenly smelled the other hanyou, Naraku, near where he had left Rin. He didn't even hesitate, but ran towards her with a sense of growing unease.

He stopped short as he reached the small clearing where Rin was sitting happily making leis. Not too far away from her, Jacken was sitting with four different coloured leis around his non-existent neck, grumbling about human females and their useless habits.

"Jacken," his voice cut across the lazy summer air.

The toad looked up with surprise just as Rin turned around to look at him with adoring eyes. She jumped to her little feet and made a bee-line for him, stopping a foot away from him and screaming his name with unabashed zeal. "Sesshoumaru-sama," the toad squawked. "Have you returned to –,"

"Did you sense the hanyou Naraku while I was gone?" he interrupted coldly. He knew that the toad wouldn't probably have been able to sense the hanyou, but he still wanted to know.

Jacken looked at his master with surprise, then hastily tried to answer him. "N-no, Master. The hanyou was nowhere around us, I'm sure of it for I would have been able to smell his foul stench."

_Unless your own foul stench was over-powering his,_ Sesshoumaru thought sardonically to himself. He glared at the 'sad excuse for a youkai', the uneasy feeling of his instincts growing the more he thought about Naraku. "Head back to headquarters! And, Jacken, if anything should harm Rin the price would be your head."

With that said and done, he headed back towards the shard-hunter's group, all the while mulling over what the evil hanyou might be up to. That's when something more disturbing than he would have liked occurred to him. What if he had been trying to lure him away? But why would he want Sesshoumaru away from his half-brother's group?

He paused once more, this time because he could smell his half-brother coming towards him. He could also smell the taijia and her fire cat demon. But there was no trace of the monk, the kitsune, or even Kagome for that matter. He waited for the two to reach him.

Inuyasha panted into view with the taijia following close behind. "What did you want?" he asked before he had even caught his breath, his rude tone already annoying Sesshoumaru.

He looked at him with disdain, "Next time, _brother_, when you are speaking with myself, I suggest you show more respect. You will be dead before the next word comes out of your mouth." The hanyou looked as though he was about to answer back with another rude remark, but Sesshoumaru interrupted him before he could. "Now, what do you mean by 'what did you want'?" _Does he know of my plans for Kagome?_ The thought ran through his mind before he could stop it.

Inuyasha looked at him as though he thought he was crazy. "Where were you going with such a hurry?" he asked with as much disdain as he could manage.

_Oh, that's what the mutt means,_ he thought to himself. "I don't remember when my business was any of yours," he quipped coldly.

"You wanted something from us; why else would you have been there?" the hanyou said.

Sesshoumaru resisted the urge to tear open the halfling's throat. "I don't have time to explain things to you, _little brother_. Perhaps that miko that always travels with you would do you the favour of doing such a tiresome deed." Ignoring the hanyou's outrageous look, Sesshoumaru casually strode away from him.

"What do you want from her, Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha asked in hushed voice just as Sesshoumaru stepped past him.

He paused in his steps, looking at his half brother with veiled surprise. He decided to play it safe and feign ignorance. "With whom, _little brother_?"

Inuyasha smirked with a shrewd smirk. Sesshoumaru did not like the look that was displayed on his face; it was far too calm for his liking. "You want her, don't ya? No use denying it, I could smell your arousal after you met at the water fall."

Sesshoumaru just continued to look at his half-brother impassively. On the inside however, calm was the last thing that he was. "Perhaps you have forgotten, hanyou, but the miko is nothing but a _human_." He had completely turned around to face the hanyou now. From the corner of his eyes he saw the taijia becoming tenser, the demon cat transforming into its true form; they recognized the ring in his voice.

Inuyasha, though, only smiled wider. "How did you know it was Kagome that I was talking about?"

Sesshoumaru ignored his slip, but allowed the poison to gather at the tips of his claws. The hanyou was going too far.

Suddenly the smirk on Inuyasha's face disappeared. "Don't fool yourself," he ignored Sesshoumaru's growl, "she would never let you have her, never mind me!"

Sesshoumaru didn't hesitate another moment, and lunged strait for his brother's throat. His blood was pulsing with the need to spill the hanyou's blood and end his miserable life at that very instant. Inuyasha dodged and pulled out Tessaiga in the same move.

He attacked again, this time pulling out Tokijin; he had no plans of holding back. The sword gleamed dangerously in the bright sunlight, cutting the air just in front of the hanyou's face as he just managed to dodge the blade. Inuyasha slashed his sword in the general direction of Sesshoumaru, but the taiyoukai was far too fast for him. He jumped away and dodged the weapon the taijia had hurled his way in an attempt to help her comrade. Without fazing, Sesshoumaru readied himself for another assault.

They both made a move as to attack each other, but both froze as the smell of Naraku and magic reached them.

It came from the direction that Inuyasha had just come from, from where Sesshoumaru had been heading towards. It came from where Kagome was.

That was the end of that chapter, but tell me if you'd rather have me post a bunch of chapters at a time, or post each chapter as soon as they are done.


	13. To believe and the Unseen Relation

Author's note: Your reviews are really making my head grow big, but by all means continue; it's a lot of fun. Just to warn you, I probably won't be updating for at least a week. This week is my provincial exam week, and as much as I would like to be doing this, I have to study if I want any scholarships. And then, right after that, I'll be moving so the computer won't be hooked up for a couple of days. So, don't be mad at me or think that I have given up on the story. No, my dears, I have a LOT planned out for it. So read and review and don't forget that I don't own Inuyasha.

****

**To believe and the Unseen Relation**

            Je ne suis ni optimiste ni pessimiste, parce que je ne suis jamais sûr que les choses se termineront bien ou mal. Je me contente d'espérer. Espérer, c'est avoir le sentiment que le monde et notre action ont un sens, cela ne dépend sur aucune circonstance.

            Une vie sans espoir est vide, inutile et triste. Sans espoir, je ne pourrais rien entreprendre. Je remercie Dieu de ce don, car il est aussi précieux que la vie elle-même.

Václav Havel

"Let's go!" Inuyasha commanded, urging Sango to move. She didn't question him, but jumped onto Kirara's back and waited for him to lead the way. Inuyasha didn't wait to see what Sesshoumaru's reaction would be, nor did he care. All he knew was that Naraku's scent was coming from where he had left Kagome, and that was not a good thing.

He ran as fast as he could, trying desperately to reach Kagome before it was too late. But when he and Sango finally reached the small clearing there was no sign of her. Her bike lay innocently in the middle of the clearing, and both Miroku and Shippo seemed to be in a deep sleep, neither of them stirring as Sango tried to shake them awake. But they were not who Inuyasha was worried for. At least he knew where they were. Kagome on the other hand was missing. He tried to follow her scent, cursing as Naraku's soon joined hers. He followed their trail for about a minute, but it soon disappeared as though they had just started to fly the rest of the way. He cursed loudly. _Damn Sesshoumaru and his distractions._  He couldn't help feeling that if he hadn't followed Sesshoumaru he would have been able to save Kagome.

"What do we do now, Inuyasha?" Sango asked, still cradling Miroku's sleeping form.

He cast her a weary look, not sure what to say. "He took her, Sango. We have to find her."

Sango gave him a small nod, and then looked around at their other companions. He could tell she was worried about them. He wanted to go and find Kagome, but maybe he could no longer just follow her scent and find her. He had no idea where Naraku had taken her. But Shippo and Miroku had been with her when she was taken, there was a good chance they knew what had happened. And he couldn't just leave them unconscious no matter how worried he was for Kagome. He had to help his other friends. He motioned towards his two slumbering friends. "We'll first take them to Kaede's; see if she could do something to help."

Sango nodded in agreement. They hauled Shippo and Miroku onto Kirara's back and made their way towards Inuyasha's forest.

He stood where Inuyasha had left him. He was half tempted to follow Inuyasha and finish him off, but thought better of if. He was in no mood to be chasing after the silly hanyou, especially since the other hanyou was somewhere close by and was playing more of his stupid little games.

He turned towards where Naraku's scent was coming from. He was not sure whether he should follow it. What if he _was_ trying to lure him away? His scent was quickly fading and Sesshoumaru had yet to do something.

That's when Tensaiga pulsed at his side. It did that every once in a while, almost always when the miko was somehow or other involved. He looked down at the sword with an air of disdain. _What are you trying to say now?_ He asked exasperatedly. _You want me to go after Naraku's scent?_

The sword pulsed.

_Why should I?_ His only response was the sword's continued pulsing. Casting it an inauspicious glare, Sesshoumaru ignored the sword, turning to make his way towards his headquarters almost in defiance of the sword. The sword vibrated angrily, making him stop to consider the sword again. The hanyou's smell came from where Inuyasha had left the miko, Kagome. Had the treacherous hanyou come across the miko? If he had, then he would definitely abduct her, he had no doubt about that. As if to encourage him, Tensaiga's quaking vibrations became gentle beats against his hip.

Almost sighing in defeat, Sesshoumaru turned back towards the quickly fading scent of the hanyou. But once more he paused, this time a look of anger flashing across his features before his mask covered it. _Why go through the trouble of finding the bastard hanyou, to save a miko?_ He planted his feet firmly into the ground. Something in the bases of his heart made him feel ever more uneasy, but he ignored it. He had decided; it was not his business to save the miko. If the expense for the success of his plan was his pride, then he would much rather keep his pride instead of the plan. He was a Taiyoukai, one particularly famous for his ruthlessness. One human miko was not going to change that, no matter how strongly Tensaiga pulsed or how the uneasiness in his heart grew at the decision. He was not going to go out of his way to save her despite how much his instinct urged him to go to her aid.

This time he turned and walked away from his brother and the hanyou's stench, walking sure footedly towards his temporary headquarters.

Kagome watched as a series of ominous clouds gathered about the far horizon over the setting sun, casting the world in a dark shadow. The air had the thick, wet quality to it that it had just before it was about to rain heavily. A hot wind rippled the long grass that grew in the meadow in front of her make-shift prison like waves in a green sea.

She waited till the sky was completely dark, the indigo ceiling covered with a thick layer of thunder clouds, before she turned her gaze away from the open window that mocked her freedom. She was inside a lone room off the main branch of a deserted castle. The room was completely empty but for her presence and a lone mirror in the corner of the room. It was a circular mirror with an intricately designed, silver border. It looked innocent, but Kagome could easily see the similarities between this mirror and that of Naraku's soul-sucking off-spring, Kanna. She knew she was being watched.

The room had a large window and a single door for entrance, neither of which were being guarded. If she wanted to, Kagome could have easily stepped over the ledge of the window and walked away, but she knew better than to try. She knew that behind those innocently standing trees at the borders of the small clearing was where many lesser youkai were hidden, waiting Naraku's orders to finish her off. She could sense their presence.

The back of her head pounded with a sickening pain where her head was broken. She wasn't sure how it had happened. All she knew was that when she had awoken, the sticky was still trickling down her neck, making her feel queasy as she brought a shaky hand to touch the blood. There was even a small puddle of blood where her head had been lying before. She couldn't remember hitting her head, and had to assume that it was the work of Naraku. The bleeding had stopped about an hour ago, leaving behind the queasy feeling at the pit of her stomach.

She sighed in the heavy heat of the night, a light sheen of perspiration making her hair stick to her face and her clothes to her body. The whole day she had been visited once by Kagura, telling her that she was not to move. She was also sent to retrieve her share of the Shikon shards. But as the Wind-user half-heartedly reached for them, Kagome used her miko powers to barricade a shield around herself; she'd be damned if she was going to give the hanyou anymore shards. Upon that, Kagura gave her a lop-sided smirk, her calculating eyes roving over her in thought before stepping out through the door.

_Inuyasha…_she thought wistfully, _why haven't you saved me yet._ She leaned against the ledge of the window with her back, her hands clamping onto it with white knuckles. She turned her face towards the night breeze that flitted in through the window, allowing it to lift her hair from her damp neck just as the first roll of thunder shook the skies above. The bright flash of a closer lightning flashed across the dark night sky, illuminating a pair of golden eyes in the see of the red ones hiding in the woods.

He stopped as the scent of thunder storms and water lilies reached his sensitive nose. It could have been the approaching storm that he was scenting, but there were no bodies of water nearby that could account for the smell of the water lilies. There was only one person that he knew that smelled like that and he had good reason not to want to see her. He tested the air wishing for the first time in his life to be able to smell his hanyou half-brother as well. As fate would have it, there was no sign of the insolent mutt, only hers and to his displeasure that of her blood. He forcefully pushed down a sigh that threatened to escape his lips.

To his immense displeasure, the stupid sword had resumed its incessant pulsing wholeheartedly. He cursed the miko for causing so much abruption in his life.

He turned his back stubbornly away from her scent, forcing his reluctant mind away from the image of the water fall breaking across her naked shoulders as she smiled in his direction. He pushed aside the memory of her bending down to whisper a 'thank you' to him.

**_But what about your plan?_** A voice echoed in his mind that sounded suspiciously like himself. _Screw the plan_, he growled silently back. _Any demoness would be more than happy to satisfy my current desire._ He was quite certain of it; it had been the case before the silly miko had waltzed into his life, and nothing had happened to change that. He had no real need of her and he knew that.

He slowed to a stop, muttering a 'damn human miko and her ridiculously distracting allure' before grumpily heading towards the edge of the woods.

Inuyasha waited impatiently as Sango tried her best to explain to Kaede what had happened while casting a worried look towards the still slumbering Miroku every once in a while. He got up abruptly, stomping towards the screen door and shoving it open to get out of the over-crowded hut. Outside, he took in a gulp of the moist air, revelling in the relief that it brought him.

He couldn't help but feel guilty for following Sesshoumaru. The cursed bastard was probably in cahoots with Naraku to lure him away from Kagome. _I was so stupid to follow. First Kikyou, now Kagome…_he sighed in exasperation.

He jumped onto a high branch of one of the spruce trees in his forest. He looked up into the sky, hoping to see the pearly light of the moon. Too bad it was covered in a layer of thick storm clouds. He knew there was going to be a heavy downpour soon. Or as Kagome would say it, 'it was going to rain cats and dogs'.

He could never understand the particular pattern of words with which she spoke. They were foreign and odd to him even though he knew it was common for her time. There were many things about her time that made her a stranger to him.

He had never had someone care so much for him yet defy him so openly at the same time. It was unnatural to him, yet Kagome seemed to take that for granted. Sometimes he thought she loved him and she had said that she would stay by his side no mater what. But then as soon as that lousy wolf showed up, she would always side with him and protected the wimp from him. To him, Kagome was an enigma, a puzzle that was too hard to solve, yet a constant reminder of another.

He sat up straight suddenly, his body tensing at the scent that drifted towards him. He tested the air, making sure it was Naraku that he smelled. He let out a growl and jumped off the branch, rushing towards the hut to alert Sango of his discovery. Naraku was near, and, if he was right, so would be Kagome. With that thought in mind, he hurried with renewed speed. _I have to save her. I have to save Ki – Kagome!_

Kagome had to fight hard not to gasp. The light from the lightning faded, throwing the woods back into darkness. But the image of the golden eyes remained embedded in her mind like a pair of haunting ghosts. She felt relief wash over her. _Inuyasha…you came._ She was careful not to betray her joy to the mirror; she did not want Naraku to find out that Inuyasha was here.

She turned fully towards the window, keeping her eyes locked on to where she had seen the eyes. Leaning slightly out of the window frame so that her face could not be seen by the mirror, she waited for the next set of thunder.

The sky rumbled with threat as heavy rain poured down with a vengeance. Lightning flashed down, forking its way into the sudden soil of the Earth. This time she caught a glimpse of silver hair, her heart skipping a beat in joy. She couldn't help the smile that spread over her features.

She pulled herself into the room, the smell of the falling rain sharp in her nose. Making sure her face was void of all emotion (even Sesshoumaru would have approved of the blankness on her face), she waited for Inuyasha's next move.

He watched her closely with his keen eyes as her chest rose and fell repetitively as she calmly breathed, all previous callous thoughts of her forgotten. The faint light shimmered enticingly against the exposed parts of her moist skin. He suddenly found that he rather liked the suffocating heat that filled the summer air. His breath almost caught in his throat as the night breeze played itself through her dark hair.

But he was brought back cruelly to reality by the scent of the other youkais' arousal. He eyed them with disapproval as the sky roared with the first thunder of the night. He did not like the way they were eyeing Kagome. He could tell by the smell that hung to them that they were Naraku's spawns and Kagome's guards. He would have no problem slicing through them.

He turned his eyes back towards the girl just as another flash of lightning flashed across the sky, lighting her features. He saw her surprise as her eyes caught his in the flash. He could see excitement and relief swim in her eyes and was surprised by them. She leaned out of the window, her hair brushing past her shoulder as the rain began to pour down. She kept her eyes in his general direction until the next flash of lightning. This time she even smiled that smile of hers.

She leaned back inside the room, her face turning completely blank as it passed the window pane, surprising him with its lack of emotions that were so probe to playing themselves over her soft features. As he watched her, he realized that she was probably waiting for him to take the next step.

Allowing his lips to turn in a lop-sided smirk, he did just that. He pulled out his sword, turning towards the mass of youkai who were guarding her. The smirk never left his face as he made short work of them, slicing through each like knife through warm butter.

He flicked off the head of the last of the lower youkai unceremoniously, turning his gaze back towards his prize. She still had her eyes glued in his general direction even though he was sure she could not have seen him with her human eyes in the dark. Ignoring this, he turned and walked back towards the heart of the woods.

Kagome followed the flashes of silver as Inuyasha cut through the youkai hiding in the woods with his Tessaiga. It was odd how he didn't use the Kaze-no-Kizo; he would have finished them a lot faster and with so much less effort. But he managed to kill them pretty quickly nonetheless. She was slightly impressed by how much he had improved.

The flashes of his sword stopped with one last fling, and she knew he was looking at her and she had to fight hard not to smile while in the view of the mirror. She thought she saw a flash of white and as the lightning flashed again she got a glimpse of the back of his white head as he moved deeper into the forest.

"What the…?" Kagome whispered under her breath. "What is he doing?" she leaned back out of the window for a better look, but could see no sign of him. Lightning flashed over the empty woods, the roar of the thunder filling her ears. There was no sign of Inuyasha.

_Maybe he went so that he wouldn't be seen by Naraku,_ she thought to herself. She dismissed the idea almost instantly. Knowing Inuyasha, Kagome knew that he would be charging in head first at the chance to head off with Naraku. Perhaps it was a good thing that he was gone, for whatever reason. At least now he was safe from Naraku for a while longer.

She knew it was now safe to step out; there were no more demons threatening her safety. She wondered again why Inuyasha didn't even come to help her out. It was probably a good thing though since he would have been seen via the mirror.

She cast the mirror a nervous look, sighing in exasperation and stepped over the ledge of the window, ignoring the sudden dizziness that rippled through her due to the loss of blood she had suffered.

She tried her best to sneak quickly out of the open space of the meadow, feeling vulnerable in the small valley. She stole her way into the shelter of the woods, stopping awhile to allow the rain to wash off the blood from her neck and the mud from her legs; Sengoku Jedi was not the place to be wearing skirts. Even the water drops felt hot to the touch.

She resumed her walk, wondering whether Inuyasha was. She kept having horrible thoughts like what if some of the demons had escaped Inuyasha's sword, which was more likely than she would have liked. What if some of them were hiding right now in the woods, just bidding their time till she passed by? _Curse Inuyasha for not waiting,_ she thought angrily. She felt a little hurt that Inuyasha hadn't stayed with her. She felt almost as though he had saved her out of duty and nothing more even though she knew better. "Inuyasha no baka!" she said in a voice just above a whisper.

"I quite agree with you on that," the cool voice cut through the heavy air from just behind her.

She whirled around, her heart beating rapidly somewhere near her throat. She knew that voice, she recognized its smoothness, but could not give her ears the credit. But as her eyes took in his silver hair and golden eyes she had no choice but to believe. "Sesshoumaru?!"

Inuyasha jumped from tree to tree at top speed, Sango astride Kirara following silently. He could just make out the white of Naraku's baboon pelt. He landed softly a few feet away from the evil hanyou, Tessaiga already drawn out. Kirara landed just behind him.

"Where is she, bastard?" he growled out through gritted teeth.

"Why Inuyasha, what a nice surprise!" Naraku said with an air of complete amiability. "Where is who?"

"You fucking bastard, don't play games with me! Where is Kagome?"

"Oh but it's so much fun watching you waste so much energy trying to save the reincarnated miko almost as if you thought you were saving the original!"

"SHUT UP!" Inuyasha yelled, Naraku's last comment hitting a rather sore nerve.

Naraku only smiled in contempt. "Don't worry; the girl is safe for now."

Grounding his teeth, Inuyasha glared full-heartedly at his enemy. He would have already cleaved him in two if he knew where Kagome was. "You fucking coward, you're always taking the coward's role, doing things behind people's back. What do you want with Kagome?"

Naraku let out a short laugh. "She is quite similar to the miko Onigumo desired so much…," he trailed off ominously.

"IF YOU FUCKING TOUCH EVEN ONE STRAND OF HER HAIR, I'LL HURT YOU SO BAD YOU'D WISH YOU WERE DEAD!"

"How novel of you," Naraku bit out in mock amusement. "But I want nothing from the girl except her jewel shards, which I can get whenever I want. So you could have her back if you want."

"What's the catch?" Sango asked. She was very wary of the hanyou, and kept looking around for any signs of her brother.

"No catch, my dear Sango," Naraku said in a would-be charming way. By now the rain had begun to pour down, the sky rumbling with the sound of thunder. "I only wish to know one little, inconsequential thing."

They waited silently for him to continue.

"How are the miko, the reincarnation that is, and your brother's fang related?"

His question was met with complete silence. _Kagome and Sesshoumaru's fang…does he mean the Tensaiga?_

"What are you talking about?" Sango asked in a rationally calm voice, sounding uncannily like Miroku.

"My Sango, I would have thought you had some intelligence. The reincarnate and the sword given to _Lord_ Sesshoumaru by his father, how are they related?" There was a touch of impatience in his voice.

"How could they be related?" Inuyasha asked in his condescending tone.

Naraku was silent, as though contemplating whether or not Inuyasha knew what he was talking about. His youchi started leaving his body in angry waves as he realized the hanyou was oblivious to what he wanted. A whole day's worth of planning and strategizing for and end that was unsuccessful; he was not pleased. With an angry snarl, he unleashed the full force of his youchi, not even waiting to see what had happened to the two. He wanted get back to the miko as soon as possible, perhaps he could extract the information that he wanted from her.

Inuyasha and Kirara took to the air without hesitation, not needing to wait to see what the after effect of Naraku's youchi would be. Still air born, Inuyasha looked around for the hanyou. To his great horror, he had already disappeared, leaving no clue as to where he had gone behind. He growled in frustration, vainly trying to follow Naraku in the direction he thought he might have gone.

            I am neither an optimist nor a pessimist, because I never am sure whether things will be for the better or worse. I make myself happy with hoping. To hope is to be aware that the world and our actions have an awareness, one that does not depend on any specific circumstance.

            Life without hope, useless, and sad. Without hope, I can take on nothing. So I thank God for it, because it is just as precious as life itself.

Václav Havel


	14. The Simple Secret

Author's note: Bet you all thought I'd given up on the story, hadn't you? Or maybe I was dead or had been kidnapped or was otherwise unable to continue writing my story. Well you were sort of close. I ended up having a lot of things piled onto my shoulders this summer. I'm telling you now: it is not fun spending two months straight with only your father and brother. They make you do all the work. But anyway, I'm sorry it took me so long to come up with the next chapter. I also was hit by an extreme case of writer's block. You see, I've had little inspiration during the past two months and was stuck mulling over the story at odd moments of time. I am sorry it took so long, but now I'm back on track and my mom and sister are coming back in four days time so I can spend a lot more time on this. Anyway, enjoy!

PS. I have my French teacher to thank me for the French quotes. Thanks Mrs. Robinson!

****

**The Simple Secret**

****

Voici mon secret. Il est très simple : on ne voit bien qu'avec le cœur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux…Les hommes ont oublié cette vérité. Mais tu ne dois pas l'oublier.

Le Petit Prince

He stared at her for a long time, not even blinking, simply drinking in the sight of her with hungry eyes. The heavy rained had made her clothes stick to her, leaving almost nothing to the imagination. She seemed to be aware of his unfaltering gaze and she shifted nervously in her spot.

"H-how long have you been here?" her shaky voice stumbled across the night air. Sesshoumaru remained silent; he saw no need to respond to her question.

The miko took a hesitant step towards him, her slight movement snapping him back to the present.

"Wh-what're you doing here?" she asked, this time her voice a little less unsure.

Again he gave no response. He stood watching her, his mind quickly making a decision that its owner was barely aware of. He remained so for so long that the girl was beginning to lose her patience. He could sense her nervousness quickly ebb away and be replaced with a mildly growing impatience. He decided it was time to stop her before she said anything. "What did the hanyou want from you?" his voice was completely neutral, his eyes filled with seriousness.

Kagome quirked an eyebrow at him. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me? Better yet, why don't you tell me what you're doing here? And where's Inuyasha?"

His eyes narrowed a little less than a fraction, the only outward sign of his irritation. "The hanyou's not here," he quipped out coldly.

Kagome crossed her arms in front of her chest in indignation. "Sure he is, I saw him myself."

She sounded so sure that Sesshoumaru had to smell the air to make sure he hadn't missed his half-brother's presence. There was no sign of him. He glared back at the intoxicating miko standing defiantly before him, wondering what on Earth she was talking about. It suddenly hit him, the realization bringing him a pang of disappointment that was foreign to him. "Did you think it was the hanyou who relieved you of your guards?" his voice was mocking.

The girl stiffened immediately, her eyes searching him suspiciously. "You mean it wasn't him?" she whispered as though to herself. "But I'm sure I saw him, unless that…" she drifted off, a look of understanding and surprise covering her face. The lightning flashed again up above, its light glistening against her wet hair. She was looking at him with a steadfast stare, not even blinking as she studied his face for any sign of deception. "It was you then, wasn't it?" she asked hesitantly as she took a step towards him.

Sesshoumaru inclined his head slightly.

She nodded back at him, her eyes trained on him as she continued her slow march towards him. Lightning flashed above their heads and the rain poured down with a purpose. Kagome said something but it was lost in the clap of thunder that followed. Sesshoumaru waited till the rumbling stopped and then indicated for her to repeat herself.

She flashed him one of her grateful smiles that had been etched into his memory without his own control, stopping mere inches away from him. The glint in her eyes outshone the flash of the next lightning. Without hesitation or any warning, she threw her arms around him, her scent overpowering the heavy scent of the rain, washing over him in calming, yet strong waves. He was too shocked to even react to her; all that crossed his mind was her position against him and how oddly comforting it was despite the almost electric shock that it sent through his body. She was just as, if not more, evocative as the thunder storm that was playing itself around them.

The rumble of the thunder faded into the night and she freed him from her grasp. "I said thank you," she repeated herself simply with a smile that reached beyond her eyes.

He could not help the shiver that ran down his spine from the image she presented. His arms itched to pull her back against his body. He sternly held back. Recovering his normal demeanour, he asked stoically, "What did the hanyou want from you?"

Her smile faltered at the curtness of his words but she shrugged it off, her face red with either anger or embarrassment. "I already told you," her voice was strong, almost steely, her eyes boring into his as though searching for something. He could see the confusion in them and had to fight hard to keep from trying to comfort her. "He came for me after Inuyasha left. I didn't even see him when I was conscious. I suppose he just wanted the shards; he had sent Kagura for them."

She had stepped away from him.

The rain was slowing in its downpour. Sesshoumaru said nothing. "Thank you Sesshoumaru-sama for helping me." She stepped further away from him, half turning her back towards him. "I'm gonna see if I can find Inuyasha; I'm sure my friends are all worried ab–,"

"You are hurt," he almost blurted out, managing to keep his voice level at the last possible second. Kagome stopped short, turning to look at him with wide eyes. Her hand flew to the base of her skull, careful not to touch the abused flesh.

"Um…I realized that," she said.

"Your human body takes too long to repair such minor damages. No wonder so many of you die as quickly as you do." He wasn't sure why he had said that, something highly unusual since the Taiyoukai was never one to speak without thinking. Yet this girl, this breathing sedative, seemed to have the most unwanted side-effects.

Her eyes flashed for a moment with anger, but she forced it down. "You don't have to worry, my human body will heal me soon enough."

Her voice was cold and almost as harsh as his; it made Sesshoumaru feel highly disconcerted. But his decision that he had made merely a few moments past forced him to continue. "It needs to be tended to."

Kagome looked at him with surprise. _Could he be worried? Nah, Sesshoumaru, worried? Hah, that's a laugh!_ Yet even as she thought these thoughts, his arm reached out slowly, torturously, and fingered the cut on the base of her skull almost tentatively. The sudden contact made her knees tremble with queasiness. She clutched his hand desperately, trying to keep her balance as her vision swam.

"Why don't you heal it?" his voice was almost gentle even though its owner had gone stock still.

She raised her eyes to his. "What was that?"

The demon lord almost let out a sigh. "Heal, why don't you heal it? I've seen you heal others enough times to know you are capable."

Lightning flashed again, this time followed by a distant thunder. Kagome flashed him a rueful smile. "Can't do, never could. I've tried. I can only heal others it would seem. But it'll be better in a few days."

_That's not good enough_, the thought flashed through his mind before he could stop himself. Wasn't it just so typical of fate to take away her ability to heal herself? Without thinking twice about it, Sesshoumaru's free hand had reached down to Tensaiga's hilt as the sword hummed gently at his hip.

Kagome's eyes widened as she watched his hand inch towards the hilt of his sword. His face was empty as usual, but there was a faraway look in his eyes that gave Kagome the distinct impression that Sesshoumaru was under a spell. For one wild moment, she thought he was about to decapitate her and she could not think why that was. All she knew was the sickening fear that raked her body and she took an involuntary step away from him, her face wary with alarm. Her movement seamed to jolt him back to the present. His eyes hardened as he arrested himself from unsheathing his sword not a minute too soon. Something akin to anger flashed across his features but had vanished before Kagome could decipher it exactly for what it was.

Sesshoumaru was furious with himself. His self control was so lacking that he hadn't even realised that he was reaching for his sword. Had the miko not stepped away from him, he would have gone as far as healing her which would have been an undeniable proof for something he did not wish to admit to. He schooled his features back to their characteristic indifference. The miko was watching him carefully now through a calculating gaze that flashed continuously between him and the sword he had been reaching for. He knew by her previous look of fear that she had not recognized the sword as Tensaiga.

"I'm not going to kill you," Sesshoumaru said quietly. '_At least not anymore!'_ a voice echoed in his mind which he ignored. "You have no reason to show me this much fear."

"That's not what it looked like a few minutes ago," Kagome answered, but moved back to where she had been before anyway. "You're eyes were all glazed over. I thought you might have been under a spell or something." She was glad her voice wasn't as tremulous as her knees felt. She had come across many demons who wanted to kill her. Heck, Sesshoumaru himself had at least tried to kill her enough times to get her used to the idea. But she had been so unnerved by the idea of him attacking her again that she was angry at herself for acting so vulnerable.

He waved aside what she said to the back of his mind. He did not wish to dwell upon his slip of the mind for longer than necessary. "I guarantee you, I was acting under no one else's accord other than my own. You think me so weak that I would let myself be exposed to such feeble things as spells?"

He sounded so affronted that Kagome lost all traces of fear that were left in her in the face of her amusement. She waved aside the notion carelessly, trying hard not to laugh out loud lest she upset him even more. "No, no, of course not! It was just weird, that's all!"

Sesshoumaru regarded her for a while, trying to decide the best way to take her words. Finally deciding that he would rather talk about something else, he changed the subject. "You have never told me why you hunt the shards? Do you wish to become stronger?"

She frowned at him and he wasn't sure why. "What do you think?" she asked impatiently. She would have thought that after knowing her for this long he should have been able to know that she would never use the jewel for her own benefits.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed as the last few drops of the night's storm tumbled down through the trees. "Answer the question."

Trying not to show her anger she said in a very curt voice, "I collect them so that I could fix the jewel. It's my duty."

He frowned at her words; _why would it be her duty?_ "Perhaps you can explain something to me: why is it that you can sense the whereabouts of the jewel shards? I am sure it is not a trait you have inherited from the dead priestess; she can only purify them."

Kagome shrugged. "I'm not sure, but it might be because it – you know what, I'm not actually sure, so let's leave it at that." She didn't think it was any of his business that the jewel had come out of her body. Plus, his questioning was making her feel more and more uncomfortable and angry by the second. His face flashed with arrogant anger which Kagome foolishly ignored. "Look, I was separated from Inuyasha and I'm sure he's looking for me right now. And frankly, I would really rather find him soon. He's got my sleeping bag and I really don't want to be sleeping on the forest floor, especially since it's wet. Well, anyway, that's besides the –,"

She was cut short as a clawed palm clamped tightly over her mouth. She focused back on to Sesshoumaru, a very dangerous looking Sesshoumaru. He's eyes were flashing as though they had sucked in the lightings of the night and his face was so full of apparent anger that Kagome found herself wishing for the stoicism that she had hated before.

Sesshoumaru leaned in closer to her, his eyes locked onto hers and he could see the sudden apprehension in them. It did nothing to sooth the anger that was toiling within him. "When I ask you a question," he said in his deadliest voice, "you are to answer me whether you want to or not." He could already see the defiance growing in her eyes and the way she was squaring her shoulders. He knew she was growing angry as her scent grew stronger.

He didn't give her the chance to say anything, instead pushing her against a close by tree with enough force to wind her. She gasped into his hand, and what had once been apprehension was quickly turned into fear, her scent overpowering that of the rain-washed night, something that excited Sesshoumaru in a most intriguing way.

Tensaiga vibrated as though with anticipation.

They stayed like that for a long while, each staring into the eyes of the other with purpose. Finally, Kagome swallowed and nodded slightly. She seemed to be waiting for something, and as Sesshoumaru did nothing, she frowned again and started to talk. The soft brush of her lips against his palm almost made him jump with a mingle of surprise and one of those unwanted feelings that he'd been having lately. He tried his best to ignore the quickly rising pace of his pulse. Yet she continued to talk, her words muffled into his hand. Her breath tickled his palm until he could no longer withstand it.

The sword at his hip was beating relentlessly again.

He did the only thing he could do and caved into the craving that had so suddenly sprung in him. He dropped his hand, but Kagome had barely enough time to suck in her breath before her lips were clamped again, only this time with the demon lord's mouth.

Inuyasha dashed through the forest, the rain beating down on his body. His mind was in a state of near panic. He knew he had to find Naraku if he wanted to find Kagome. And Naraku had disappeared so suddenly that Inuyasha had no hopes of finding him. His heart hammered madly in his chest, making his feet almost shaky. He had to save Kagome.

Sango followed him silently on Kirara's back, her huge boomerang latched onto her back and ready to be used. She had a worried look etched onto her face; too many people that she cared about were in danger at this time, so much that she was close to tears. Yet she held back, refusing to show any signs of weakness in the face of fear. She knew that Inuyasha didn't know where he was really going and neither did Kirara; a fact that did nothing to calm her frayed nerves. But she continued to follow Inuyasha with desperation.

Both their minds were confused and jostled by Naraku's odd appearance. They had no idea why he would think that Kagome and Sesshoumaru's sword were connected. And why would such a connection be so important to the hanyou? It simply made no sense. And for the hanyou to go through so much trouble over such an insignificant piece of information, it was out of character for the hanyou.

The rain poured down on the trio and lightning flashed with menace. They continued their futile search without hope, not minding the thunder that shook the air itself. All that mattered for the moment was to find either Kagome or Naraku., the former of which was preferable.

At first, she was too shocked to do anything but barely feel the lips that were moving so ravenously yet softly against her own. She was breathing really fast, almost panting, her body succumbed to his will. Images flashed in the back of her mind, images of Sesshoumaru. He was fighting against them, threatening to kill her, Sesshoumaru pulling out Tokijin for the first time, Sesshoumaru saving her from Mokutsu, Sesshoumaru sitting behind the waterfall, his eyes focused on a point far, far away.

In response to Kagome's total lack of reaction and the growing hunger within himself, Sesshoumaru stepped in closer so that he could feel every curve of her body against his own, and ran his arm along her back, his own breathing becoming shallow by the electric surge of pleasure that followed.

Tensaiga thrummed with exhilaration that only added to his need.

The images suddenly switched to those of Inuyasha, Inuyasha trying to protect them, Inuyasha swearing grumpily after having been 'sat' six feet into the ground, Inuyasha fighting against this very man that was kissing her, Inuyasha hugging her.

He felt rather than saw her hands rising to rest on his chest, only then realising that his eyes had closed. He hastily opened his eyes only to see that Kagome was looking back at him with anger evident in her dark eyes. Her hands pushed against his chest and he let himself be moved to their will. He stood a foot away from her, her hand firmly placed over his chest as though making sure he wasn't about to step in closer to her again. The blasted sword continued vibrating madly at his side. His whole mind and body could think of nothing else but the need to continue kissing her. It was official, she was an aphrodisiac.

Kagome nailed him with as angry a look as she could muster, trying her best to ignore the blush that threatened to cover her cheeks, and said, "What was that?"

There was no answer.

"What did you mean by that?" she said more forcefully, her heart hammering somewhere near her throat.

Still no answer.

"Argh! Come on, Sesshoumaru, you must have something to say? No use playing dead!"

"I am always surprised by human crudeness," he said crisply, his face finally slipping back to its stoic mask.

She had to fight hard in order to restrain from yelling. She shut her eyes tightly, breathing in slowly, her face still as red as a tomato. "Look, I think I deserve to be told what that…that…um…that was for," she said in a forcibly calm voice.

Again, her words were met with silence.

In a rush of anger she pushed away from him angrily and turned her back on him with a great sigh of exasperation.

Sesshoumaru watched as she began to stump away from him, splattering mud into the air with the force of her anger. His own mind was in a state of chaos it had absolutely never been before, a mixture of excitement, ecstasy, and anger at himself for his lack of control. He barely noted the growing urgency with which Tensaiga thrummed at his side. There was a strange fire burning within him. He wanted to make her stay, make her talk to him. He wanted to know how far he could push her limits. "You are provoked by the most insignificant of matters."

She stopped dead in her tracks, her back rigid and tense. "Why did you kiss me? Was that an 'insignificant matter'?" Her voice was quiet and he could not distinguish the emotion behind it.

He could not answer her. He didn't know.

She whirled around to face him, her face alive with fury. "Was it, or was it not?" she said in the same calm voice, and he knew she was barely keeping herself in check.

He hesitated, and then said, "I cannot give you an answer that I do not know."

This seemed to catch her off guard. Her eyes widened with disbelief but were soon refilled with anger. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T KNOW?!" she yelled with frustration. Her emotions were on a very unpredictable rollercoaster and Sesshoumaru was not helping the matter. Having been just kissed by a demon lord seemed to have an unwanted effect. "You must know why you … did that; you're _Sesshoumaru_. HOW could you NOT know?"

Once more her scent was beginning to overpower his mind. Not wanting a repeat of what had happened a few seconds ago, Sesshoumaru stepped further from her, ignoring her angry words.

"Argh," she exclaimed exasperatedly. She wanted to get away from him as soon as possible. She shook her head, and then looked back at him with forced calm. "Look, I neither have the time nor the patience for this. I want to find Inuyasha." She looked at him thoughtfully for a while before continuing to say, "I can pretend that this never happened, if you want me to."

Silence met these words, interrupted only by the occasional drip of the rain into small puddles. Finally, Sesshoumaru spoke. "Why did you pull away?"

Kagome felt as though she had walked straight into a brick wall. _Wasn't it obvious?_ She tilted her head to the side and asked, "_What?_"

"Was it because of the hanyou?" Sesshoumaru persisted, his face and voice stoic, his mind a mess.

Kagome opened her mouth to disagree, her anger cooling in the face of her confusion. But she clamped her mouth closed as she locked eyes with him. She had pushed him away because of Inuyasha, hadn't she? She had felt guilty knowing that at that very moment he was searching for her, putting his life on the spot for her safety and she was kissing his despised brother. With sudden resolution, Kagome nodded her head.

Tensaiga stilled suddenly.

Jealousy burned through his body like wild fire. He's jaw was clamped so tightly that he could barely get out his next words. "Do you love him?"

Kagome looked away from him. She spotted a small boulder near her and sat on it, crossing her arms in the process. She placed her chin on her crossed arms and answered the demon. "Whether I love him or not is not important to you. Or at least, it shouldn't be. I have no reason to answer you."

It took all his concentration not to lose control. She was now regarding him with an almost bored expression. He had the distinct impression that she was trying to provoke him using his own tactics. He took a moment to securely rein in his temper, making sure he wouldn't do anything rash. He then walked purposefully towards her and sat down beside her on the boulder. The effect was immediate; Kagome tensed in half a heartbeat. Yet she did not leave the boulder. She squared her shoulders and trained her eyes coldly onto him, raising one eyebrow in the process. "What if I gave you a reason?"

Kagome swallowed hard, pushing down her curiosity ruthlessly. "Then I'd have to judge how good this 'reason' of yours would be." She was wary of how close he was sitting to her and could not help a small blush.

He considered her for a while, leaning back on his elbows and regarding her thoughtfully. Tensaiga was lying dormant at his hips as though it had not been gyrating like it had a few minutes ago.

Kagome's features softened as she continued to look at him. She had noticed how he seemed to be holding himself back and trying to appear relaxed. His efforts helped sooth her bruised pride a bit and calm her frayed nerves. She found herself a little more eager to actually listen to him despite her nagging urge to find Inuyasha. _Well, if I stay in one place, Inuyasha would have a better chance of finding me,_ she told herself. _Plus, while I'm with Sesshoumaru I'm safe…at least from other demons._

She didn't know how long Sesshoumaru and her stared at each other. A raindrop dripped down onto her head from an above branch, forcing her back to the present. She gave him a reproachful look and said, "You know, if there's something you need to tell me, I'd be more than willing to listen."

She could just see the corners of his lips twitching. "I hardly doubt that."

Kagome frowned. "What could be so bad that you can't tell me?"

"Do not forget your place, human! I shall tell you that which I want when I please." His words were cruel and cutting, yet Kagome could just sense a hidden ring of amusement in his voice.

Once more she pushed down her rising temper. "We're not enemies anymore, remember? I can be your friend. If you can find it in yourself to save my life, then you should also be able to tell me whatever it is that's bothering you," she said, trying her best not to think of the kiss of a few minutes ago. Despite it, she knew she wanted to help him.

He frowned inwardly at her persistence. But her offer had just opened a new door for him. He just wasn't sure whether it was the right to time to use it. Should he ask her to play out the promise that she had made so long ago?

"It can't hurt to tell me, could it?" Kagome added encouragingly.

Sesshoumaru had finally made up his mind. "Do you love him?" he asked simply.

He had successfully changed the course of their conversation.

Again, Kagome frowned, feeling uncomfortable. "Why do you want to know so badly? It's not like you care, honestly."

Sesshoumaru kept his stoic mask on and only repeated himself.

Kagome threw her hands up in agitation. _Why would he care? He had always hated Inuyasha, hadn't he? Why would he suddenly be so interested in his affairs?_ "You're not gonna tell me why, are you?"

Sesshoumaru shook his head slightly.

He watched her as she sighed in defeat. She pulled up her knees close to her body, wrapping her arms around them and then burying her face in their warmth. After a few moments pause, she lifted her head enough to place her chin on one of her knees. "At least tell me what you think?" she kept her eyes trained on a point straight ahead of her as she spoke. Some of her wet hair slid over her shoulder to dangle against her thigh.

Sesshoumaru scented the air and noticed that her scent was less concentrated than it had been before. This was a bit of a relief since he always found it harder to concentrate with her scent distracting him. Now that the rain had stopped, a cool breeze was softly blowing throw the trees; it was very comforting after the night's heat.

"Do you think I love him?" she asked persistently.

"From what I can see…," he said at last.

He could just see an odd smile tilting her lips. Was it rueful or mocking? "And do you believe what you see?"

"I can only believe what I can see."

Her smile widened. "You sound unsure," she said simply. "My mom told me a secret a long time ago that helped me know what I needed to know. It's almost always foolproof."

Sesshoumaru raised his eyebrows in question. "You say that I'm wrong in my observation?" he sounded sceptical.

"I never said that…," she said vaguely. "I'm only suggesting that you can't always rely on what you see."

"And you have a better way?" he was curious to know.

"I just told you that my mother told me it," she said softly, almost dreamily. She lifted her head off her knee and turned to look straight into his eyes. He could see that her eyes were serious yet full of confusion. "Do you want to know?"

He gave a slight nod of his head.

The vague smile vanished from her face and she looked at him more piercingly than ever. He could not help it, but all of his attention was drawn to her. "Here's my secret," she said softly, her eyes unflinching. "It's very simple: one only sees well with his heart. The essential is invisible to the eyes…" she fell silent. She allowed her eyes to drift away from his, pulling herself out of the momentary trance that she had thrown both of them into. "My secret is a reality. Men, demons too, have forgotten this reality. But _you_ don't have to forget."


	15. The Moon's Reflection

Author's note: Okay, next chapter, guys! Let's see, to tell you the truth I don't personally see Kagome's prologue in this chapter as being all that important to the plot, except well, when she's remembering those things and she's talking about how she feels towards the two brothers. I put in the part with the Little Prince simply because I love the quote. It can apply to a lot of things. Since I originally read it in French and it is originally written in French, I have the French version written down as my quote for this chapter. The English part I translated myself, like everything else, so those of you who have read it in English, that's why it's not the exact wording. Sorry! But I suggest you all read that book, the Little Prince. It's incredible how much wisdom can be stored in a children's book!

Another thing, and **this is important**, is the timing of the story right now. We're just before Kikyou is 'killed' by Naraku at Mt. Hakudoshi or whatever. I realise my plot doesn't really correspond to the actual plot during this time, but it's my story so deal with it!

Oh, and someone please tell me how you're actually supposed to bloody spell Tessaiga or Tetsusaiga (oh hell, I've no idea)!

I do not currently, formerly, or will ever own Inuyasha! Boo hoo hoo

**The Moon's Reflection**

Tu n'es encore pour moi qu'un petit garçon tout semblable à cent mille petits garçons. Et je n'ai pas besoin de toi. Et tu n'as pas besoin de moi non plus. Je ne suis pour toi qu'un renard semblable à cent mille renards. Mais, si tu m'apprivoises, nous aurons besoin l'un de l'autre. Tu seras pour moi unique au monde. Je serai pour toi unique au monde…

Le Petit Prince

"You are still to me," she read to Shippo from her book, "a little boy the same amongst a hundred other little boys. And I have no need for you. And you have no need for me either. I am only a fox to you the same amongst a hundred other foxes. But, if you were to tame me, we would have need of one another. You will be unique to me in the world. _I_ will be unique to you in the world…"

She paused to turn the page, allowing her words to linger in the air. She was reading 'The Little Prince' to Shippo. She had always loved it as a child and still loved it to this day. She had brought the book back with her and had been reading it for herself when Shippo had asked her to read it for him as well. Of course, Kagome had been more than happy to do so. And when it turned out that Shippo liked it as much as she did, it had become a nightly ritual for her to read from it before going to bed.

"Kagome?" Shippo said just as Kagome was about to start on the new page. "What does the fox mean when he says 'if you were to tame me'? Why does he want to be tamed?"

Kagome looked away from her book to see Shippo gazing at her curiously from her lap. She hugged him closer to herself. "He wants to have the Little Prince become responsible for him. Then they could be friends and that's what he wants."

Shippo looked at her with a look of utmost attention and seriousness. "Then does that mean that you've tamed me?" he asked with a yawn, drawing closer to Kagome for the warmth that she provided.

She ruffled his hair and laid him down in her sleeping bag. "I've tamed you just as much as you've tamed me. For now, though, it's time for you to go to sleep." She got to her feet.

Shippo pouted but stayed in Kagome's sleeping bag. "How come you're not going to sleep? I want to go to sleep when you do!"

Kagome gave him a stern look, at the same time putting away her book and bringing out her bath stuff. "Shippo," she said reprovingly. "I would have thought you knew better than this. It's really late, and we're getting up early in the morning. You need your rest."

Shippo opened his mouth to protest but Kagome didn't give him the chance. "Look, Shippo, I'm tired and don't want to argue. Plus, I'm going to bed as soon as I take a bath."

Shippo looked as though he wanted to whine some more, but Kagome had already turned her back to him and was making her way into the thick walls of trees.

They had passed a small lake a little more than five minutes before they had stopped to rest. She made her way towards it and quickly changed into her bathing suit.

She couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine as she stepped into the water. The whether had been steadily getting cooler since two days ago, the day after the storm, and the water was like ice against her skin. She drifted in until the water reached her knees, and then dived in. She let out a soundless squeak of bubbles underneath the water.

Her mind was barely on what she was doing as she washed her hair. She sat on the lake floor, her hands scrubbing her scalp, her mind on the words she had just read to Shippo.

'But, if you were to tame me, we will have need of one another.' Her fingers left her scalp to brush lightly over her lips. 'You will be unique to me in the world._ I_ will be unique to you in the world…' She let out a sigh.

Kagome suddenly snapped out of whatever reverie she had been in. She hadn't been aware of what she had been doing and dropped her hand irritably. She had promised herself that she would not think of Sesshoumaru and his kiss. The problem was that this was easier said than done.

Even though it had been couple of days since the night he had rescued her, she had seen neither head nor tail of him (pun intended). She was furious with herself for seeming to care so much. All day she forced herself to concentrate on anything but him, but just as she let down her guard he would be back on her mind. The thing was anyone would find it hard to forget that an exceptionally deadly yet beautiful demon had kissed them. One that had once been your enemy, one who was supposed to hate everything and anything to do with your race.

Kagome dunked back into the water to wash out the soap from her hair. When she resurfaced again, she started washing the rest of her body. She found herself wishing for the pressure of the waterfall at which she had seen Sesshoumaru.

_Why did he kiss me?_ The question ran through her mind before she could quell it. She couldn't figure it out. Sesshoumaru was not known for his willing acceptance of humans. It was, in fact, just the opposite. He had even tried to kill her. But, admittedly, that had been a long time ago and many things had changed since then. For one, there was Rin. He travelled with a human child; that had to be proof enough that he wasn't as cold-hearted as he'd originally seemed. And then, even more evident, was his relationship with her. They'd become, albeit a bit slowly, friends, hadn't they? He'd saved her life. And she had saved his in return. That had to count for something. Was it really that unbelievable that, perhaps, maybe, there was a small chance that there might be something more than just friendship that he intended to have?

Yes.

She let out another sigh and swam back to the shore of the small lake. She dried herself in record time and quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweat shirt. She snuggled against the warmth of her clothes which was very comforting after the cold of the water.

It was as she was rapping her towel around her sodden hair that she heard the crack of a twig snapping. She straightened like a bullet, all her senses on the alert within an instant. She could just hear the sound of someone grumbling and making their way towards her. Now more curious rather than wary, Kagome snuck behind a rock to see who it was.

"…she would go all the way here to get soaked," the person was saying, and Kagome realised that it was a woman. "Not to mention she can catch a cold. I swear, she's obsessed!"

Kagome stifled a giggle as she recognized Sango's voice. She stepped out from behind the rock. "Sang—,"

"AHH!" Kagome had to dock fast as a rock came flying through the air right where her head had been a few minutes ago.

"What are you DOING?" she demanded hotly, springing back to her feet and rubbing mud off her pants.

Sango looked horror-struck. "Oh my god, Kagome-chan! I'm so sorry! I didn't realise it was you!"

"Figures!" Kagome said grumpily. "Did you want a bath then?"

Sango shook her head, still looking sorry. "No…I actually came to look for you. Didn't want to stay there with only the guys…"

Kagome could see a blush covering her friend's cheeks and thought she had a pretty good idea why Sango didn't want to stay with only _the guys_. She smiled at her and said, "Well, I'm finished here. I was just going to come back to the camp. Inuyasha would want us to wake up early tomorrow. You know, with Naraku and all…"

She turned towards the tree line expecting Sango to follow her; only she didn't. Kagome turned back towards her to see what the matter was. Sango was behind her, a look of hesitation on her face.

"Sango, are you alright?" Kagome asked slowly.

Sango began to nod her head only to switch half way through. "Speaking of Naraku…" she began almost shyly.

Kagome turned around fully and looked at her friend, waiting for her to continue. "Go on," she said encouragingly.

Sango looked away from her and instead concentrated on the rock Kagome had been hiding behind. "Well…he…uh…he seems to think that there's a link between you and Sesshoumaru's sword!"

"What, Tokijin?" Kagome asked with surprise.

Again, Sango shook her head. "No, with Tensaiga!"

"Tensaiga?" Kagome asked stupidly. _What the hell is this about?_

Sango nodded.

"How do you know?"

Finally, Sango looked up. "He asked _us_ about it when he'd kidnapped you. He wanted to know about the relation between you and Tensaiga."

Kagome let out a long whistle, at the same time rubbing the base of her skull.

Sango was still staring at her most avidly, as though she was waiting for something. "Um…Kagome-chan?" she said hesitantly.

Kagome's attention was called back to her and she only then saw the avid look in Sango's eyes. "Hmm?"

"What…what is the link?" she asked.

Kagome frowned. "What? Between me and Tensaiga?"

Sango nodded.

She couldn't help rolling her eyes. "Come on, Sango! Like I'd know! Plus, who's to say there even is a link. You're only proof is Naraku's word."

"You have to admit, though, there does seem to be a link between you and Sesshoumaru's sword." Sango persisted.

Kagome opened her mouth to disagree with this only to have a new notion cross her mind. She'd heard a voice once when they had been in battle with Sesshoumaru. The voice had asked for help for her master. And she had given it. She had given it without hesitation. She'd seen her energy reach the sword that had been pointed towards her, and she had seen, she had helped, save this sword's master. Did that mean that there was a link?

"Kagome-chan?" Sango's hesitant voice broke through her thoughts. "Are you okay?"

Absentmindedly, Kagome shook her head. "I've just remembered…back when I first met Sesshoumaru, he threatened to kill me with Tensaiga. Only…only it didn't really work since I recognized the sword for what it was right off the back…"

Sango looked quite surprised at this. "Why didn't you ever tell me that before?"

Kagome looked at her and shrugged. "I don't know. There are so many things that are new to me in this time that you guys take for granted that I just assumed this was another one."

They were both silent for a while, considering the information. _Is there something between me and Sesshoumaru's sword?_ The thought ran across Kagome's mind. It was possible, after all. Had she not been the only person who could pull out Tessaiga? She had a link with it, why not with its twin?

"Kagome-chan?" Sango began again. "What about you and Sesshoumaru himself?"

To her horror, Kagome found herself blushing brilliantly at Sango's words. "What about me and Sesshoumaru?" she asked, trying to sound innocent but failing miserably.

Sango gave her a semi-suspicious look, but seemed to have not noticed her blush in the dark. "I don't mean to sound presumptuous or anything, but he just seems to always be there whenever you're in trouble. Whenever Inuyasha can't get to you in time, _he_ saves you. He's supposed to hate humans, but that's not true in your case. Kagome-chan, he seems to … like you!"

By now, Kagome had stopped her fruitless efforts to push down the blush that had covered her face and neck. "…h-he likes Rin and she's human."

She gave her an almost pitying smile. "Kagome-chan…Rin is a child."

"Well, so what?" Kagome said almost defiantly. "In my time, I'm not an adult either!"

"But you are in our time!"

Kagome flopped down onto the ground in a huff. "What are you getting at?!"

Sango walked up to where she was and sat down next to her. "I've been your friend for a long time, now, Kagome-chan. I have relied on your friendship and strength in many cases and you've come through for me. I can trust you. You can trust me too," she said kindly. "You can tell me what's going on, you know."

Kagome considered her for a while. _It can't hurt to tell her…_ she mused, focusing on her bare toes.

"Kagome-chan…has something happened?" Sango asked in response to her silence.

Kagome began to shake her head half-heartedly but soon stopped. "Well…I'm not…sure…"

She could just imagine Sango raising her eyebrow at her vague answer. Sango remained silent, however, waiting for Kagome to continue.

Looking determinedly away from Sango, Kagome started telling Sango everything. She did not tell her about the occasion she had lent her power to Tensaiga, however. She couldn't find it in herself to tell Sango about what would have been her betrayal at the time. She'd just have to think that out on her own.

Through out her whole monologue she did not once look at Sango, afraid of what she would see. But when she got to the part when Sesshoumaru had kissed her, she could not help a quick side glance. Not surprisingly, Sango seemed to be just as shocked about this as she had been. Her mouth was gaping, and her eyes large with disbelief. Kagome looked away hastily, ruthlessly pushing down another blush attack. It took Sango a good minute before she spoke again.

"…Kagome-chan…," seemed to be the only thing she could say.

Kagome screwed up her face in mock-suffering, gently biting down on the side of her lower lip. "That's not all…," she said in almost a whisper. She felt a strong rush of guilt as she prepared to finally admit to the one thing that she'd been persistently denying for the past two days. She swallowed hard. "I…er…I enjoyed it…"

She heard Sango let out a small gasp beside her, and she buried her face in her hands. She could feel the heat radiating off her face against her palms.

"But…Kagome-chan…what…how…oh dear!" Sango seemed to have been rendered speechless. "He's a demon…a-a demon lord…he hates humans…oh dear! What about Inuyasha?!"

Kagome groaned into her hands and buried her face deeper.

"Kagome-chan, do you still love him?" Sango asked quietly.

All Kagome could do was shrug.

"Do you love Sesshoumaru?" she seemed to ask almost hesitantly.

At this, Kagome lifted her head and finally looked at Sango, one eyebrow raised. "I should think not! Honestly Sango, he's like only kissed me, and that was without my permission. That doesn't mean I love the guy! I just said I liked the kiss!"

Sango gave her an apologising smile. "Sorry, I got carried away." The smile slid off her face and she turned a serious look at Kagome. "But Kagome-chan, will you tell Inuyasha?"

Again, Kagome felt a rush of guilt. Grimacing at the thought, Kagome said, "Well…it's not really any of his business. This is between me and Sesshoumaru." She tried to sound aloof while saying this.

"Kagome-chan, you know that's not true…"

Kagome threw her hands up in the air in frustration. "Okay, I give! Maybe it is his business, but I don't want to tell him. Plus, I'm not sure how I feel about him anymore." She had started this and she was prepared to say all that she needed to say. She let out a short laugh, almost rueful. "Sango," she said honestly, "I'm tired of following him around like some starry-eyed teenager! I loved him, he didn't love me back. I'm not gonna wait around anymore till the day he decides to come around. Sometimes, I _want_ him to choose Kikyou, and then I'll be free! No more feeling sad because I'm second. _I'_m second to _no one_!" She'd squared her shoulders and was looking unflinchingly into Sango's eyes as she said this. She meant every word of what she said.

Sango remained silent. It was hard to tell what was going through her mind. She was looking at Kagome, but there was neither encouragement nor disapproval in her eyes. "I…didn't know that's how you felt. I guess you've given up on him then," when she said this, her voice held the smallest hint of disappointment. "But Kagome-chan, does this mean you want to…I don't know…to have Sesshoumaru court you?"

Kagome couldn't help the fit of giggles that escaped her. _Sesshoumaru?__ Courting me?_ She almost laughed out loud at the notion. Sango looked affronted by Kagome's sudden mirth.

"What's so funny?" she asked in a slightly hurt voice.

"I'm sorry," Kagome gasped in midst of her giggles. "But can you imagine _the_ Sesshoumaru chasing around us, trying to 'win my affections'?" This time, she burst out with laughter, no longer able to keep it in.

"Well," Sango said, her lips twitching. "That would be…" What it would be, Kagome never found out, for at that moment, Sango also burst into a fit of giggles, her words lost to her laughter.

They sat there, each leaning on the other for support, and laughing for more than five minutes. Finally, still a bit out of breath, Kagome looked at her watch. "Sango, I think we should be going back to camp. I've been here for almost an hour. I'm sure Inuyasha would be wondering where I am by now. Let's go."

Sango nodded her head and got to her feet. She leaned against the rock while Kagome pulled on her socks and her shoes. "Ready?" she asked once Kagome had gotten to her feet.

Kagome gave her a wide smile and said, "Yeah. To the camp." And she marched back towards where Inuyasha, Miroku and Shippo were probably resting, her used clothes in her hand along with her soap and shampoo. "Thanks, Sango."

His face was calm and completely void of emotion. There was no hint about the torrent of anger and the odd sense of discomfort that he was actually feeling. The idea of the two of them laughing at his expense made his blood boil. But he kept quiet and out of sight, despite his need to get out there and put a stop to this mockery.

He waited until they were out of hearing range before he walked out of the tree line to sit at the water's edge beside the huge rock where Kagome and Sango had been sitting only a few minutes past. _As if I would ever be found dead trying to win her heart!_ He thought to himself with a sense of cruel satisfaction. He had found that idea a lot less amusing than the two girls had. He was actually rather offended that the thought would even cross their minds. _I have far better things to think about and do!_

He had seen her come to the lake, bathe in it, and then change out of that suit that he had seen her wear at the waterfall and into odd clothes that he knew from the future. He could still imagine her, standing by the lake shore with nothing but odd, almost useless, articles of clothing on before she had pulled on the outer layers of her attire. His breathing had become shallow and blood pounded behind his ears. He was so lost in her that he had misplaced his foot and a twig had snapped underneath his feet, alerting her of his presence. It was only luck that the taijia had shown up at the same time.

He'd been watching her from a distance ever since the night of the storm. He had let her go when his half-brother had finally shown up only a few minutes after Kagome's words to him. He'd let her go, but he had not let her out of sight. He followed her from a distance, far enough so that he wouldn't be detected by his half-brother. Inuyasha had questioned her about what had happened and she had told him only what she seemed to think was necessary. The hanyou had been so relieved to see her that he never bothered to find out the other events of the night.

Sesshoumaru had been quite surprised that the girl had not even mentioned his kiss to anyone. He had wondered over and over again why she seemed to be so less affected by it than he had been. But it had been a great comfort to him when she finally confessed it to her friend. And he could not hide the smirk that curled his lips crudely as she admitted to enjoying the kiss. It soothed his ego and pride, although he would never admit to it.

He, himself, was so haunted by the memory of the feel of her lips against his own that he could think of little else. He, a demon lord, was totally enwrapped in something as insignificant as that! He was disgusted, to say the least. Yet, somehow, if he searched deep inside, he knew that he was not disgusted by the kiss at all. In fact, he knew that if he were to have the chance, he would be hard put to try and not steal another kiss from her.

_Perhaps that's what she had meant…_he thought idly_. 'One only sees well with his heart.' _Her voice echoed in his mind for the thousandth time. He pushed away both her voice and his own impromptu thought. He did not want to waste more of his time thinking about one silly miko and a few silly words that she had spoken. Instead, he turned his mind to what he had heard the taijia say to Kagome earlier.

So the bastard hanyou thought there was a link between the miko and his sword. He wasn't surprised. In fact, he had suspected as much for a long time now. It was hard not to notice when every time the girl was in trouble the sword went wild. The question was what the link was.

He tried to put together all that he knew about Kagome. He knew that she was from the future and was the reincarnation of the once dead miko, Kikyou. She had pulled out Tessaiga and could feel aura's from both swords. He also knew that she was unusually powerful yet untrained. From what he had seen during his stay at her time, he guessed that her grandfather owned a shrine, which meant that Kagome was to be its maiden when the time came. And then there was the whole business with the Shikon jewel shards. From what he knew, she was the only person to be able to sense their whereabouts. She could also purify them when they were tainted. He racked his brain for anything that he might have forgotten.

He remembered Tensaiga borrowing power to help him escape Tessaiga's attack. He also remembered something else, something that he had not thought much of until now. Had it not had been when Kagome's tune (as the miko called it) was playing out for the first that his arm had been returned to him? Kagome had looked so surprised by its return, that Sesshoumaru was positive that she had not meant to do it on purpose. Did that mean anything?

Mulling over thoughts about Kagome and Tensaiga, Sesshoumaru watched a small fish jump out of the water to catch a fly, and then dive back into the pool of black water. A few frogs perched on water lilies were croaking continuously. Once in a while on of them would throw out its tongue to catch a fly. Despite the many dangers to their lives, the flies seemed persistent upon staying near the surface of the water. Sesshoumaru watched another murky grey fish dive into the air, trails of water glittering in the moonlight.

He was suddenly struck by an odd notion. He turned his head and looked at the moon high in the sky, remembering something else about the girl from the future. Something that had bothered him less than all the other things he'd discovered about her.

The moon shone down onto the dark Earth with pearly white rays radiating from its full spherical form. It was then that he remembered something else, words from deep into his past:

_In this faithful hour_

_All heaven with its power_

_And the sun with its brightness_

_And the snow with its whiteness_

_And the fire with all the strength it hath_

_And the lightning with its rapid wrath_

_And the winds with their swiftness along their path_

_And the sea with its deepness_

_And the rocks with their steepness_

_And the Earth with its starkness_

…life is a sleep…

_All these I place_

…in which love is its dream…

_By God's almighty help and grace_

…and you have truly lived…

_Between myself and the power of darkness_

…only when you have loved!

_It's possible…_he thought to himself. _I just need to be sure about that night before I make any assumptions._

He turned his head back towards the lake. Something caught his eyes and he moved closer to the lake's edge to see better. There, only a few steps away from the water, was a foot print. He could tell by its shape and size that it belonged to Kagome. Some of the water from the lake had pooled in inside it. A slow breeze rustled the trees nearby and rippled the surface of the water, making the reflection of the moon in the footprint sized pool glimmer before Sesshoumaru's surprised eyes.

_It's very simple: one only sees well with his heart. The essential is invisible to the eyes…My secret is a reality. Men, demons too, have forgotten this reality. But _you_ don't have to forget…_


End file.
